Havre, MontanaHavre Drunk Driving Accident
Havre Drunk Driving Accident Lawyers: DUI Crashes, Impaired Drivers and Dram Shop Claims in Hill County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If a drunk or drugged driver injured you or killed someone you love in Havre or on the Hi-Line, 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, but that claim requires notice within 180 days.
Hurt by an impaired driver, or lost a family member to one? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
How do impaired-driving crashes happen around Havre?
The pattern on the Hi-Line is different from a large city. There is no rideshare fleet to call at closing time, and the distances between towns are long. A driver who leaves a bar in Havre may head home on US-2 toward Chinook or Chester, on US-87 toward Box Elder and Big Sandy, or on a gravel county road to a farm. Crashes after dark on two-lane highways are often head-on or run-off-road collisions at highway speed, and help can be many miles away.
Crashes also happen in town, on First Street and at intersections near downtown, where impaired drivers strike pedestrians, cyclists and cars waiting at lights. Weekend events, holidays and the end of harvest can bring more traffic and more drinking.
What happens after a drunk-driving crash in Havre?
The investigation. Inside city limits, the Havre Police Department investigates. The Hill County Sheriff’s Office covers the rest of the county, and the Montana Highway Patrol covers US-2, US-87 and the secondary highways. On Rocky Boy’s or Fort Belknap, tribal police and federal authorities may be involved. Ask for the report number and the investigating officer’s name. Breath or blood test results, body-camera video and field sobriety results are often in the officer’s file.
The criminal case and the civil case run separately. A DUI charge is prosecuted by the government in a criminal court. Your civil claim is your own case, brought by your own lawyers, for your full losses. A conviction is powerful evidence, but you do not need one to recover. Criminal restitution covers out-of-pocket losses, not pain, suffering or grief (§ 46-18-243, MCA). We coordinate with the prosecutor and victim advocates so the two cases support each other.
Medical care. Most crash victims are first seen at Northern Montana Hospital in Havre, which is not a designated trauma facility on the state’s November 2025 list (DPHHS). Severe injuries are often flown or driven to Great Falls or Billings. Those transfers add to the medical bills and to the value of the claim.
Move fast on the bar. In a town Havre’s size, witnesses often know where the driver was drinking. Receipts, card statements and bar or store video can prove it, but video is often recorded over within days, and the dram shop notice deadline runs from the date the alcohol was served.
Courts. A civil claim over a Hill County crash can be filed in the Twelfth Judicial District Court at the Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street, Havre (§ 3-5-101, MCA). A case against an out-of-state driver or employer may be heard in the federal Great Falls Division (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3)).
When can a Havre bar or host be held responsible?
Only in limited circumstances. 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 drinker was under the legal drinking age and the server knew it or did not make a reasonable attempt to check;
- the drinker was visibly intoxicated when served; or
- the server forced or coerced the drinking, or said the drink contained no alcohol.
The statute applies to “a person or entity,” so it may reach a party host as well as a bar or liquor store. It also sets strict limits:
| Rule | What § 27-1-710 requires |
|---|
| Notice | Written notice of intent to sue by certified mail within 180 days of the sale or service |
| Lawsuit deadline | 2 years after the sale or service |
| Noneconomic damages | $250,000 total for all claimants per event |
| Punitive damages | $250,000 total, and only if the conduct meets the punitive damages statute |
A passenger over 18 in the drinking driver’s car generally may not bring a dram shop claim against the server.
Montana law that applies
Our Montana drunk driving accident lawyer page covers the law in detail:
- In any civil or criminal action, a test result of 0.08 or more taken within a reasonable time gives rise to a rebuttable inference that the driver was under the influence (§ 61-8-1002, MCA).
- Punitive damages require actual fraud or actual malice proven by clear and convincing evidence, and may be added only with the court’s permission after discovery begins (§ 27-1-221, MCA). A jury may find that choosing to drive while impaired meets that standard.
- Most injury and wrongful-death claims against the driver must be filed within 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
- When the driver carries only minimum insurance, your own underinsured motorist coverage may make up the difference.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Havre case?
We are based in Great Falls, and we handle cases statewide. For a Havre crash, we meet the family in Havre, start the dram shop investigation immediately, and attend hearings and depositions wherever the case is heard. We have no office in Havre. We represent injured people and families only; we do not defend people charged with DUI.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We know Hi-Line juries. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a Phillips County jury’s $168,500 verdict for our client on our appeal (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- We try cases. The firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We protect results on appeal. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977 (appellate results).
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves. Both belong to AAJ and MTLA.
Related Havre pages: wrongful death · uninsured and underinsured motorist claims · Havre and Hill County injury lawyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
The driver who hit me was charged with DUI in Havre. Do I have to wait for the criminal case? No. The civil claim is separate and does not depend on a conviction. We often coordinate its timing with the criminal case.
We know which Havre bar served the driver. What should we do? Talk with a lawyer right away. A dram shop claim requires certified-mail notice within 180 days of the service, and bar video may already be at risk.
Can I sue the host of a party where the driver was drinking? Possibly. The statute applies to “a person or entity” that furnished alcohol, with the same three exceptions, notice rules and caps.
Does restitution in the criminal case cover my pain and suffering? No. Restitution covers special damages such as medical bills and lost income. Pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life must be pursued in a civil claim.
How long do we have after a fatal DUI crash near Havre? Generally 3 years for wrongful-death and survival claims against the driver (§ 27-2-204, MCA), but only 180 days for dram shop notice.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
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.
