Great Falls Toxic Exposure Lawyer | Montana Asbestos Claims

Great Falls & MontanaToxic & Asbestos Exposure

Great Falls & Montana Toxic Exposure Lawyers: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, Chemical Exposure and Environmental Contamination Claims

Boland Aarab PLLP.

Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab

If exposure to asbestos, a chemical or another toxic substance made you or a family member sick in Montana, you may have a claim against the companies that made, sold, released or failed to control it. These cases are proven with science: testing, medical evidence and qualified scientists and physicians who connect the exposure to the illness. Montana’s discovery rule can extend the filing deadline when an injury is hidden, but it has limits, so talk with a lawyer as soon as you suspect a connection.

Key Takeaways
Asbestos can cause asbestosis, pleural disease, lung cancer and mesothelioma, and signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure (ATSDR).
A manufacturer can be strictly liable for a dangerous product even if it did not know the danger when it sold it; Montana bars “state of the art” evidence in strict-liability cases (Sternhagen v. Dow Co., 935 P.2d 1139 (Mont. 1997)).
The limitation period does not begin until the facts are discovered, or should have been, when those facts are self-concealing or the defendant prevented discovery (§ 27-2-102(3), MCA).
Most personal injury claims must be filed within 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA); property damage claims within 2 years (§ 27-2-207, MCA).

On this page: What is a toxic tort · Common exposures · Asbestos · Proving causation · Workplace exposure · Environmental contamination · Discovery rule · What to do · Damages and deadlines · Why Boland Aarab · FAQ

Diagnosed with an asbestos disease, or worried that an exposure made you sick? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

What is a toxic exposure claim?

A toxic exposure claim, often called a toxic tort, seeks compensation for illness or injury caused by exposure to a harmful substance.

The exposure may come from a single event, such as a chemical spill, or from years of contact at work, at home or in the water supply. Common legal theories include:

Strict product liability against the maker or seller of a dangerous product, including for inadequate warnings (§ 27-1-719, MCA).
Negligence against a company that failed to use reasonable care in handling, storing, transporting or disposing of a substance (§ 27-1-701, MCA).
Strict liability for abnormally dangerous activities, trespass and nuisance, when contamination migrates onto someone else’s property.

What kinds of exposure lead to claims in Montana?

Montana’s agriculture, rail, refining, energy, mining and construction industries all involve substances that can cause serious harm when they are not handled properly. Claims we evaluate include:

Asbestos, from insulation, building materials, vermiculite, brakes, gaskets and industrial equipment. See our asbestos section below.
Pesticides and herbicides used on farms, ranches, rights-of-way and lawns.
Solvents and industrial chemicals, such as benzene, degreasers and cleaning agents.
Lead and other heavy metals from older paint and plumbing or contaminated soil.
Silica from cutting, grinding and blasting stone and concrete.
Carbon monoxide from defective furnaces, heaters and generators.
Chemical releases from derailments, pipeline breaks and plant fires.
Contaminated groundwater and drinking water from leaking tanks, refineries and landfills.

A worker exposed on the job, a neighbor whose well was contaminated and a consumer who used a product at home may each have claims against different defendants.

What should you know about asbestos exposure in Montana?

Asbestos is a group of natural mineral fibers that, when breathed in, can cause serious and often fatal disease decades later. Montana has lived with that harm for generations.

The diseases. The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) describes four main asbestos-related conditions (ATSDR, Health Effects of Asbestos):

Asbestosis: scarring of the lungs that keeps oxygen and carbon dioxide from passing in and out easily.
Pleural disease: thickening of the membrane around the lungs and chest cavity, sometimes with fluid buildup.
Lung cancer: a malignant tumor that invades and blocks the lung’s air passages. ATSDR notes that smoking combined with asbestos exposure greatly increases the risk.
Mesothelioma: a rare cancer of the membrane lining the lungs and chest cavity, the abdominal cavity or other organs.

Long latency. According to ATSDR, signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure. Many people diagnosed today were exposed in the 1970s or 1980s, at a job, in a family home or through a parent who brought fibers home on work clothes.

Montana’s history. Vermiculite was mined near Libby from the 1920s until 1990, and ATSDR has reported that the ore was contaminated with amphibole asbestos linked to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. ATSDR also studied workers, families and neighbors at 28 plants across the country that processed Libby vermiculite (ATSDR summary report, 2008). EPA placed the Libby Asbestos Site on the Superfund National Priorities List in 2002 (EPA site profile). In 2009 it declared a public health emergency for Libby and Troy, the first time EPA had made that determination under federal Superfund law (EPA, June 17, 2009). In a suit by miners who alleged the State knew of the danger from its inspections and failed to warn them, the Montana Supreme Court held that the State owed them a duty (Orr v. State, 2004 MT 354).

Libby is not the only source. Asbestos was used for decades in insulation, boilers, pipe wrap, roofing, flooring, brakes and gaskets, so tradespeople and their families may have been exposed anywhere in the state.

Timing. Montana’s discovery rule can delay the start of the limitation period until the disease and its cause are discovered, or reasonably should have been (§ 27-2-102(3), MCA), but the clock can start with a diagnosis or a physician’s statement linking the illness to asbestos. The product-liability repose statute has an exception for latent respiratory diseases and malignancies in claims against the manufacturer (§ 27-1-719(6)(b), MCA).

Finding the responsible companies. Exposure often happened decades ago, at several jobs, from several products. We reconstruct it from work histories, union records, co-worker testimony and product identification. Responsible parties can include:

manufacturers and distributors of asbestos-containing products;
owners of the plants, mines and buildings where exposure occurred;
contractors who disturbed asbestos without proper controls; and
trusts set up in bankruptcy by former asbestos manufacturers to pay present and future claims (11 U.S.C. § 524(g)).

We handle asbestos exposure cases, including claims arising from decades-old exposure.

How do you prove that an exposure caused an illness?

Causation is usually the central fight in a toxic exposure case, and it is proven with science.

Defendants often count on the injured person being unable to afford the science, or running out of patience. A strong case answers four questions:

What was the substance? Product records, safety data sheets, purchasing records and environmental testing identify it.
How much exposure, for how long? Work histories, air and water sampling, site records and witness accounts establish the dose.
General causation: Can this substance cause this kind of illness? That turns on the scientific literature and qualified toxicologists, epidemiologists and physicians.
Specific causation: Did this exposure cause this person’s illness? Medical witnesses weigh the exposure, the timing and other possible causes.

Can you bring a claim for exposure at work?

Usually not against your own employer, but often against the companies that made, supplied or controlled the substance.

Montana’s Workers’ Compensation Act is generally the exclusive remedy against an employer (§ 39-71-411, MCA), with a narrow exception for an injury that was specifically and actually intended (§ 39-71-413, MCA). But it does not bar a claim against a third party other than the employer (§ 39-71-412, MCA), such as the product’s manufacturer or distributor, the owner of the facility where a contractor’s employees were exposed, another contractor on the site, or the maker of a ventilation or respirator system that failed. See our workplace injury page.

What if contamination reached your home, land or water?

A company whose contamination migrates onto your property can be responsible for the harm to the property and to the people who live there.

In Sunburst School District No. 2 v. Texaco, Inc., benzene from a former refinery migrated into the groundwater beneath a school and roughly ninety neighboring properties. The Montana Supreme Court upheld $15 million in restoration damages, even though that amount exceeded the properties’ market value (2007 MT 183).

Environmental claims can include cleanup and investigation costs, loss of use and enjoyment, lost value, medical harm and replacement water. Property claims generally must be filed within 2 years (§ 27-2-207, MCA).

How does Montana’s discovery rule work for toxic exposure?

Ordinarily a claim accrues when all its elements exist, and lack of knowledge does not delay the clock (§ 27-2-102(1)-(2), MCA). But for an injury to person or property, the period does not begin until the facts have been discovered, or with due diligence should have been, if the facts are by their nature concealed or self-concealing, or the defendant took action that prevented discovery (§ 27-2-102(3), MCA). Once you suspect a connection, the clock may already be running.

What should you do if you suspect a toxic exposure?

See a physician and tell them about the exposure. Ask whether testing is appropriate.
Write down your exposure history: where, when, how long, what substances, and who else was exposed.
Keep product containers, labels and safety data sheets, and photographs of the site.
Keep your medical and employment records, including old pay stubs and union cards that show where you worked.
Report a workplace exposure to your employer promptly.
Do not sign releases or give recorded statements to a company or its insurer.
Talk with a lawyer early, before the discovery-rule clock becomes an issue.

What can you recover, and how long do you have?

Montana law allows recovery for the full harm an exposure causes, including past and future medical care, lost earnings and earning capacity, pain and suffering, and loss of the established course of life. When an exposure causes a death, the family may bring wrongful death and survival claims (§§ 27-1-513, 27-1-501, MCA).

Deadlines are generally 3 years for personal injury and wrongful death (§ 27-2-204, MCA) and 2 years for property damage (§ 27-2-207, MCA), subject to the discovery rule, plus a 10-year product repose period with a latent-disease exception (§ 27-1-719(6)(b), MCA). Claims against a government entity require written presentation of the claim first (§ 2-9-301, MCA).

The Boland Aarab Way

We are trial lawyers, and we prepare every case as if it will be tried and then appealed. Toxic exposure defendants are often large companies with deep resources. They reconsider their position when they see the science assembled and the case prepared for a jury.

We prove exposure cases with science. We handle asbestos exposure cases, including claims arising from decades-old exposure, and we build the testing and scientific evidence from the ground up.
We try cases. Our 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 know federal and appellate court. Exposure cases against national companies are often litigated in federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977.
You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves. Both are members of the American Association for Justice and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association; Caitlin serves as an AAJ Governor and on the MTLA Board.

Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Where do we handle toxic exposure cases?

Our office is at 18 6th Street North, Suite 200, Great Falls, MT 59401. We handle asbestos, chemical and toxic exposure cases across Montana, including Great Falls, Billings, Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, Butte and Kalispell. We also handle product liability, workplace injury and construction accident cases.

Where do we handle toxic and asbestos exposure cases?

We are based at 18 6th Street North, Suite 200, in Great Falls, and handle toxic and asbestos exposure cases across Montana. Our attorneys travel for depositions, hearings and trial. For local information, see our pages for Billings toxic and asbestos exposure lawyers, Missoula toxic and asbestos exposure lawyers, Helena toxic and asbestos exposure lawyers, Bozeman toxic and asbestos exposure lawyers, Butte toxic and asbestos exposure lawyers, Kalispell toxic and asbestos exposure lawyers and Havre toxic and asbestos exposure lawyers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a toxic tort? A claim for illness or injury caused by exposure to a harmful substance, such as asbestos, a chemical, a pesticide or contaminated water. It may be brought against the maker of the substance or the company that released or failed to control it.

Can I file a claim for mesothelioma or asbestosis in Montana? Often, yes, against the companies that made, supplied or controlled the asbestos, and sometimes against asbestos bankruptcy trusts. Mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure, so the key is identifying where the exposure happened (ATSDR).

How do I prove a chemical or asbestos made me sick? With science: evidence of what the substance was, how much exposure occurred, and testimony from qualified medical and scientific witnesses that it can cause, and did cause, your illness.

Can I sue my employer for an exposure at work? Generally not; workers’ compensation is usually the exclusive remedy against the employer (§ 39-71-411, MCA). But you may have a claim against the product’s manufacturer, the site owner or another contractor (§ 39-71-412, MCA).

I was exposed years ago and only recently got sick. Is it too late? Not necessarily. Montana’s discovery rule can delay the start of the deadline when the facts are self-concealing or the defendant hid them (§ 27-2-102(3), MCA). Talk with a lawyer promptly, because the clock may start once you suspect the connection.

What if contamination got into my well or onto my land? You may recover cleanup costs, loss of use and, in some cases, restoration damages greater than the property’s market value (Sunburst v. Texaco, 2007 MT 183). Property claims generally have a 2-year deadline.

Can a company avoid liability by saying no one knew the product was dangerous? Not in a Montana strict-liability case. The Montana Supreme Court has held that “state of the art” evidence is not admissible to defend a strict-liability claim (Sternhagen v. Dow Co.).

How long do I have to file a toxic exposure lawsuit in Montana? Generally 3 years for personal injury (§ 27-2-204, MCA) and 2 years for property damage (§ 27-2-207, MCA), subject to the discovery rule.

Talk to a Great Falls Toxic Exposure Lawyer