Bozeman, MontanaBozeman Drunk Driving Accident
Bozeman Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers: DUI Crashes, Impaired Drivers and Dram Shop Claims in Gallatin County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If a drunk or drugged driver injured you or killed someone you love in Bozeman or elsewhere in Gallatin County, you can bring a civil claim for your full losses whether or not the driver is convicted. Montana may also allow punitive damages, and in narrow cases a claim against whoever served the alcohol. That dram shop claim has a 180-day notice deadline.
Hurt by an impaired driver, or lost a family member to one? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Where do impaired-driving crashes happen around Bozeman?
Gallatin County has taken impaired driving seriously for a long time. Its DUI Task Force, appointed by the County Commissioners, traces its work back to 1982 (Gallatin County DUI Task Force). The patterns that bring families to us reflect how people move around the valley at night:
- Downtown Bozeman. Main Street’s bars and restaurants close late, and drivers leave toward North 7th Avenue, North 19th Avenue, Huffine Lane and the I-90 interchanges.
- The college calendar. Montana State University’s fall and spring semesters, game days and graduation weekends bring large crowds into town.
- Ski-town evenings. Après-ski at Big Sky and Bridger Bowl ends with a drive down U.S. 191 through Gallatin Canyon or down Bridger Canyon Road on Montana 86, both two-lane, winding roads where a wrong-way or center-line crash leaves no room to escape.
- Summer traffic. Weddings, festivals, float days and rodeos around Belgrade, Manhattan, Three Forks and West Yellowstone put impaired drivers on rural highways and county roads.
What happens after a drunk-driving crash in Bozeman?
The criminal case. The officer who investigates, from the Bozeman Police Department, the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office or the Montana Highway Patrol, will collect breath or blood evidence and file charges. A misdemeanor DUI inside Bozeman is usually heard in Bozeman Municipal Court; one elsewhere in the county goes to Gallatin County Justice Court; a felony DUI or vehicular homicide goes to the Eighteenth Judicial District Court. The Gallatin County Victim Services program works with crime victims and families through the prosecution and can help with Montana’s Crime Victim Compensation program (Gallatin County Victim Services).
Your civil case is separate. Criminal restitution repays certain out-of-pocket losses only, not pain and suffering (§ 46-18-243, MCA). Your own claim goes forward on its own schedule, and it does not depend on whether the criminal case ends in a plea, a trial or a dismissal.
Records. Police reports, body-camera video and test results for Bozeman Police and Sheriff’s Office cases are requested through Gallatin County Support Services/Records (gallatinmt.gov). Some records are held back while the criminal case is open, so we request them early and follow up.
Move fast on the bar. If the driver was served at a Bozeman bar, restaurant, brewery or event, or at a private party, a dram shop claim requires written notice by certified mail within 180 days of the service. Receipts, card records, surveillance video and staff schedules disappear quickly.
The court. A civil case over a Gallatin County crash is filed in the Eighteenth Judicial District Court at the Gallatin County Law and Justice Center, 515 South 16th Avenue, Bozeman (§ 3-5-101, MCA). If the driver lives in another state, the case may be heard in the federal court’s Butte Division (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2).
Montana law that applies
Our Montana drunk driving accident lawyer page covers the law in depth. In brief:
- A blood alcohol test of 0.08 or more within a reasonable time gives rise to a rebuttable inference of impairment in “any civil or criminal action” (§ 61-8-1002, MCA).
- Punitive damages require clear and convincing proof of actual malice (§ 27-1-221, MCA) and are capped at $10 million or 3% of net worth, whichever is less (§ 27-1-220, MCA).
- Dram shop liability exists only if the drinker was underage, visibly intoxicated when served, or forced or deceived into drinking. It requires certified-mail notice within 180 days and suit within 2 years, and caps noneconomic and punitive damages at $250,000 each (§ 27-1-710, MCA).
- 3 years for most injury and wrongful-death claims against the driver (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
Who pays after a DUI crash?
The impaired driver’s liability insurance pays first, but it is often a minimum policy. Your own underinsured motorist coverage may then apply, and it may stack. A vehicle owner who lent the car, an employer whose worker was driving on the job, and a server that meets the dram shop statute may add other sources. We look for every one of them.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Bozeman case?
DUI crash cases often involve catastrophic injuries or a death, a parallel criminal case, and insurance limits that do not cover the harm. We are based in Great Falls, handle these cases across Montana, and our attorneys travel to Bozeman for depositions, hearings and trial. We do not have a Bozeman office. We coordinate with prosecutors and victim advocates so the civil case does not interfere with the criminal one.
The Boland Aarab Way
- Trial-ready. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom, and our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties.
- Verdicts protected on appeal. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client in a rear-end crash case (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- Federal court experience. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years.
- Part of the trial bar. Both attorneys are AAJ and MTLA members; Caitlin Boland Aarab is an AAJ Governor and on the MTLA Board.
We also handle wrongful death cases in Bozeman and uninsured motorist claims in Bozeman. See our Bozeman personal injury page for more.
Frequently Asked Questions
The driver who hit me had been drinking downtown in Bozeman. Can I sue the bar? Possibly, if the bar served the driver while visibly intoxicated or served a minor. You must send certified-mail notice within 180 days of the service, so call soon.
Does the criminal case in Bozeman Municipal Court or Justice Court decide my claim? No. A conviction is strong evidence, but your civil claim is separate and can succeed even if the charge is reduced or dismissed.
Can Gallatin County Victim Services help my family? Yes. The county’s victim services program supports crime victims through the criminal case and can help with Crime Victim Compensation. It does not bring your civil claim for you.
The drunk driver hit us on U.S. 191 in Gallatin Canyon and has only a minimum policy. What now? Your own underinsured motorist coverage may pay beyond the driver’s limits, and other sources, such as a vehicle owner or employer, may apply.
Can I recover punitive damages from a drunk driver in Montana? Sometimes. A jury may award them if clear and convincing evidence shows actual malice, such as driving with a very high alcohol level or after prior DUIs.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
