Havre, MontanaHavre & Hill County Personal Injury
Havre & Hill County Personal Injury Lawyers
Boland Aarab PLLP.
Boland Aarab PLLP represents injured people and families in Havre, Hill County and the towns of Montana’s Hi-Line, including Chinook, Harlem, Chester, Shelby and Malta. We are trial lawyers based in Great Falls, about 110 miles south on US-87, and we handle cases across the state. We tried a case to a Phillips County jury in Malta. When the jury’s verdict was thrown out, the Montana Supreme Court reinstated it on our appeal.
Hurt on the Hi-Line, or lost someone? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What part of the Hi-Line do we serve?
The Hi-Line is the string of towns along US-2 and the BNSF main line across northern Montana. Havre, the Hill County seat, is the largest of them and the region’s hub for health care, shopping, rail work and higher education. We represent clients throughout the area:
- Havre and Hill County, including Box Elder, Rudyard, Hingham and the farm country toward the Canadian border.
- Chinook and Harlem in Blaine County, east of Havre on US-2.
- Chester in Liberty County and Shelby in Toole County, to the west, where US-2 meets I-15.
- Malta in Phillips County, farther east, where US-2 meets US-191.
- Big Sandy and the US-87 corridor toward Fort Benton and Great Falls.
- Rocky Boy’s Reservation and Fort Belknap Reservation (see below).
We do not have an office in Havre. Our only office is at 18 6th Street North, Suite 200, in Great Falls. We come to Havre and the Hi-Line towns to meet clients, visit scenes, take depositions and appear in court, and we make ourselves easy to reach by phone and video.
Which courts hear Havre and Hi-Line cases?
| Area | State district court (§ 3-5-101, MCA) | Federal court |
|---|
| Havre and Hill County (also Liberty and Chouteau Counties) | Twelfth Judicial District, Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street, Havre | Great Falls Division |
| Chinook and Harlem (Blaine County); Malta (Phillips County) | Seventeenth Judicial District (Phillips, Blaine and Valley Counties) | Great Falls Division |
| Shelby (Toole County) | Ninth Judicial District (Teton, Pondera, Toole and Glacier Counties) | Great Falls Division |
Sources: § 3-5-101, MCA; D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3).
The U.S. District Court’s Great Falls Division covers every Hi-Line county, and court is held at the Missouri River Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Great Falls. Many cases against trucking companies, railroads, manufacturers and insurers are heard there. State-court appeals go to the Montana Supreme Court. Federal appeals go to the Ninth Circuit.
How does an injury case from Havre move?
- The report. The Havre Police Department handles crashes and incidents in the city. The Hill County Sheriff’s Office covers the county, and the Montana Highway Patrol covers US-2, US-87 and the secondary highways. Other agencies may be involved, including OSHA, the railroad, the NTSB, DPHHS or tribal and federal authorities.
- Medical care. Most people are seen first at Northern Montana Hospital in Havre. On the state’s November 2025 list, it is not a designated trauma facility. The nearest higher-level center is Benefis Healthcare in Great Falls, an ACS Level 2 / Regional Trauma Hospital, and Montana’s Level 1 centers are in Billings (DPHHS). Transfers are common, so records are spread across several facilities.
- Evidence. We send preservation letters, collect the reports and records, and inspect vehicles, equipment and scenes before they change. On the Hi-Line, a thaw or a snowplow can change a scene overnight.
- The claim. We deal with every insurer, including your own underinsured motorist carrier, and negotiate from a trial-ready file.
- The lawsuit, if needed. It is filed in the right district court or in federal court in Great Falls. We prepare every case for trial.
What makes Hi-Line injury cases different?
- Roads. US-2 is mostly two-lane highway beside the railroad, with long, straight stretches, passing crashes, harvest traffic and winter whiteouts. In Havre it becomes First Street. US-87 runs south to Great Falls. Secondary highways lead north to the Wild Horse and Willow Creek ports of entry (S-232 and S-233) and south through Beaver Creek Park toward Rocky Boy’s (S-234).
- Rail. BNSF’s Hi-Line main line runs through Havre, with a yard where crews change and a BNSF locomotive shop. Amtrak’s Empire Builder stops in Havre daily. Railroad workers’ claims fall under FELA, not workers’ compensation.
- Agriculture. Havre sits at the northern tip of the Golden Triangle wheat region, with grain elevators, farm trucks and harvest crews.
- Energy. There is gas production south of Havre and in Phillips County, and oil in the Kevin-Sunburst field near Shelby.
- Distance. Specialized medical care, many experts and the federal court are hours away. That affects damages, logistics and strategy.
- Weather. Severe winters bring ice, drifting snow and ground blizzards. They also bring house fires and gas incidents during the heating season.
Rocky Boy’s and Fort Belknap: what should families know?
Two reservations are part of the Hi-Line community. Rocky Boy’s Reservation, in Hill and Chouteau Counties in the Bears Paw Mountains, is the home of the Chippewa Cree Tribe. The Fort Belknap Reservation, south of Harlem in Blaine and Phillips Counties, is shared by the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine peoples, who govern together as the Fort Belknap Indian Community.
Each tribe is a sovereign government with its own courts and laws. For an injury on or near a reservation, the first question is often which court can hear the case: tribal, state or federal. The answer depends on who was involved, whether they are tribal members, and where the injury happened. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that tribal courts generally cannot hear claims against non-members arising from crashes on state highways that cross a reservation (Strate v. A-1 Contractors, 520 U.S. 438 (1997)). Claims against a tribal member or a tribe may belong in tribal court, and tribal sovereign immunity may apply.
Health care at the Indian Health Service hospital at Fort Belknap Agency near Harlem, or at a tribal health program operating under a federal self-determination contract, raises separate federal rules. Those claims are generally brought against the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, and a written claim must be presented within 2 years (25 U.S.C. § 5321(d); 28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)). We approach each of these cases with respect for tribal sovereignty. We advise clients early about which court and which rules apply, and when a case belongs in tribal court, we can seek admission to that court to handle it.
What cases do we handle in Havre and Hill County?
Crashes and transportation
Work injuries
Medical and care cases
Serious injuries and loss
Insurance, privacy and appeals
More practice areas
For the law behind each practice area, see our statewide Great Falls personal injury pages.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We know Hi-Line juries. The firm has tried cases in Phillips County, and when a Phillips County jury’s $168,500 verdict for a woman rear-ended by a pickup was thrown out, we had it reinstated by the Montana Supreme Court (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. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We know the federal court for the Hi-Line. 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.
- We belong to the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to AAJ and MTLA. Caitlin Boland Aarab serves on the MTLA Board, and Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice. See our results.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have an office in Havre? No. Our office is in Great Falls. We handle cases statewide and travel to Havre and the Hi-Line towns for meetings, depositions, hearings and trial.
Where will my case be filed if I was hurt near Havre? Usually in the Twelfth Judicial District Court at the Hill County Courthouse. A case against an out-of-state company may be heard in the federal court’s Great Falls Division.
I was hurt near Malta or Chinook. Is that the same court? No. Blaine and Phillips Counties are in the Seventeenth Judicial District. We have tried a case to a Phillips County jury.
Is Northern Montana Hospital a trauma center? The state’s November 2025 list shows it as not designated. The nearest regional trauma hospital is Benefis in Great Falls.
I was hurt on Rocky Boy’s or Fort Belknap. Can you help? Often, yes, depending on which court has jurisdiction. We review that question at the start, and if your case belongs in tribal court, we can seek admission to that court to handle it.
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.
