Butte, MontanaButte Drunk Driver Accident
Butte Drunk Driver Accident Lawyers: DUI Crashes, Impaired-Driver Collisions and Dram Shop Claims in Butte-Silver Bow
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If a drunk or drugged driver injured you or killed someone you love in Butte, you can bring a civil claim for your full losses, whether or not the driver is convicted. Montana law may allow punitive damages, and in narrow cases a claim against whoever served the alcohol, but that claim requires written notice within 180 days of the service. The criminal case in Butte will not make you whole on its own.
Hurt by an impaired driver in Butte, or lost a family member to one? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What makes impaired-driving crashes in Butte different?
Uptown’s bars and events. Uptown Butte has a long-standing concentration of bars and restaurants on steep, narrow streets, and large events draw crowds there. The Montana Folk Festival, one of the largest free outdoor music festivals in the Northwest, is held each July on the site of the original mine yard in Uptown (Montana Folk Festival). Most people who celebrate in Uptown do so responsibly. When someone does not, the evidence of where that driver was served is concentrated in a few blocks, and it disappears fast.
Routes out of town. An impaired driver leaving Uptown heads down Montana Street or Harrison Avenue toward the interstate, or out Montana Highway 2 toward Pipestone Pass. Wrong-way entries at the close-set Montana Street and Harrison Avenue interchanges and high-speed crashes on the passes are the kinds of collisions that cause catastrophic injuries.
Two agencies, two sets of records. A crash on city-county streets is investigated by the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement Department, and one on I-90 or I-15 usually by the Montana Highway Patrol. Each has its own reports, video and test records, and each must be requested.
What happens after a DUI crash in Butte?
The criminal case. The driver may be charged and prosecuted in Butte-Silver Bow, in justice court or, for felony charges, in the Second Judicial District Court. The prosecutor and victim advocates can keep you informed, and the court can order restitution. Restitution covers out-of-pocket losses, not pain and suffering (§ 46-18-243, MCA).
Your civil case. Your claim against the driver, and anyone else responsible, is separate. It is usually filed in the Second Judicial District Court, Silver Bow County (§ 3-5-101(2), MCA), at the Silver Bow County Courthouse, 155 West Granite Street. If the at-fault driver was an out-of-state traveler or was driving for an out-of-state employer, the case may be removed to the U.S. District Court, Butte Division, at the Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse (mtd.uscourts.gov). The civil case can move forward even if the criminal case is dismissed or pleaded down.
The first two weeks. In a Butte DUI case, early work usually includes:
- requesting the crash report, body-camera and dash-camera video, and breath or blood test records;
- asking Uptown bars, restaurants and stores to preserve their surveillance video and receipts before they are recorded over;
- identifying where the driver was drinking from receipts, card statements, witnesses and phone data; and
- preserving the vehicles and their event data.
Treatment. St. James Healthcare in Butte is an ACS Level III / State Area Trauma Hospital (DPHHS, Nov. 2025), and the most serious injuries may be transferred to Missoula or Billings.
Can you sue the bar that served the driver?
Only in limited circumstances, and only if you act quickly. Montana’s dram shop statute is the exclusive basis for holding anyone who furnished alcohol liable (§ 27-1-710, MCA). A server may be liable only if the consumer was under the legal drinking age and the server did not make a reasonable attempt to check, was visibly intoxicated when served, or was forced or deceived into drinking. The jury may consider only the signs of intoxication the server actually saw and heard.
The deadlines are strict: written notice by certified mail within 180 days of the sale or service, and suit within 2 years. Noneconomic and punitive damages against a server are each capped at $250,000. Because the notice clock starts on the night of service, not when you learn which bar it was, a Butte dram shop investigation has to start right away.
Montana law that applies
Briefly. Our Montana drunk driving accident lawyer page covers the law in more depth.
- Proof of impairment: a test result of 0.08 or more taken within a reasonable time creates a rebuttable inference of impairment in civil as well as criminal cases (§ 61-8-1002, MCA).
- Punitive damages require actual malice or actual fraud by clear and convincing evidence and the court’s permission to add the claim (§ 27-1-221, MCA).
- Insurance: Montana’s minimum liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident (§ 61-6-103, MCA), so your own underinsured motorist coverage often matters.
- Deadlines: generally 3 years against the driver (§ 27-2-204, MCA); dram shop claims have the 180-day notice and 2-year filing rules above.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Butte case?
Because the most important evidence in a DUI case, bar video, receipts and test records, is lost in days, and the dram shop notice deadline is unforgiving. We are based in Great Falls and handle cases statewide, and we can send preservation letters the day you call. Our attorneys travel to Butte to meet with you, attend criminal proceedings when it helps, take depositions and appear for hearings and trial. We have no Butte office, and our jury trials have been in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We protect verdicts: in a rear-end crash case, the Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- We try cases: more than a dozen jury trials and more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We handle appeals: our appellate record reaches back to 1977.
- You work with the lawyers, Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab, who handle your case themselves.
We also handle wrongful death cases in Butte and uninsured motorist cases in Butte. See our Butte personal injury page.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Frequently Asked Questions
The driver who hit me was charged with DUI in Butte. Do I need my own lawyer? Yes, for your civil claim. The prosecutor represents the State, and restitution does not cover pain, suffering or loss of enjoyment of life.
Can I sue an Uptown bar that kept serving the driver? Possibly, if the driver was visibly intoxicated when served, was underage and not checked, or was forced or deceived into drinking. Written notice by certified mail must go out within 180 days of the service.
What if the criminal case in Butte is dismissed? Your civil case can still go forward. It is decided on a lower standard of proof.
Can I get punitive damages against a drunk driver? Possibly, with clear and convincing proof of actual malice, and only after the court allows the claim to be added.
The drunk driver had only minimum insurance. What else is there? Your own underinsured motorist coverage, an employer’s or vehicle owner’s policy, umbrella coverage and, where the statute allows, a dram shop defendant’s insurance.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
