Havre, MontanaHavre Motorcycle Accident
Havre Motorcycle Accident Lawyers: US-2 Touring Crashes, Beaver Creek Highway Wrecks and Hill County Rider Injuries
Boland Aarab PLLP.
Motorcycle crashes around Havre usually happen in one of three places. There is US-2, the long cross-country touring route. There is the Beaver Creek Highway into the Bears Paw Mountains. And there are city streets where drivers turn left across a rider’s path. Hill County cases go to the Twelfth Judicial District Court in Havre. Riders have 3 years to file most claims, and Montana does not require adult riders to wear helmets.
Hurt on a motorcycle near Havre, or lost someone on a ride? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Where do riders get hurt around Havre?
US-2 across the Hi-Line. US-2 draws long-distance riders who cross the northern tier of the country, and local riders use it too. It is mostly two-lane highway beside the BNSF main line, with long, straight stretches. The serious crashes happen when a car pulls out from a side road or a field approach, when a driver passes into oncoming traffic, and when a rider comes up on slow farm equipment during harvest. Crosswinds on the open prairie can move a bike across a lane, especially when a semi passes.
The Beaver Creek Highway (S-234). S-234 runs south from Havre about 21.7 miles toward Rocky Boy’s Reservation. For 17 of those miles it winds through Beaver Creek Park, a Hill County park of more than 10,000 acres at the foot of the Bears Paw (bcpark.org). It is a favorite ride, and it has curves, loose gravel, cattle, deer, and park traffic stopping and turning at campgrounds and pull-offs.
Havre’s streets. Inside the city, US-2 becomes First Street, lined with businesses, driveways and left-turning traffic. The most common motorcycle crash in any city happens here too: a driver turns left across the rider’s path and says afterward, “I never saw them.” The City of Havre, MDT and Hill County are preparing a Safe Streets and Roads for All safety plan covering all road users.
Season and light. The riding season on the Hi-Line is short. Early and late in the season, riders face frost in shaded curves, sand and gravel left from winter, and deer at dawn and dusk.
What happens after a motorcycle accident in Havre?
Reporting and care. The Havre Police Department handles most crashes inside the city limits. The Montana Highway Patrol or the Hill County Sheriff’s Office handles most crashes outside town. Injured riders are usually taken first to Northern Montana Hospital. The state’s November 2025 list shows it as not a designated trauma facility (DPHHS). Riders with serious injuries are often transferred to Benefis in Great Falls, an ACS Level 2 center, or to one of the Level 1 trauma centers in Billings.
Evidence to keep. Keep the helmet, riding gear and the motorcycle in their damaged condition. Keep any helmet-camera footage. Photograph the road surface, gravel and sight lines, because they change.
Courts. A lawsuit over a Hill County crash is filed in the Twelfth Judicial District Court at the Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street (§ 3-5-101, MCA). If the driver who hit you lives in another state, the case may be moved to the federal court’s Great Falls Division, which covers Hill County (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3)). Many touring riders are from out of state themselves. That does not change your rights, but it can affect where the case is heard.
Crashes on Rocky Boy’s Reservation. S-234 enters Rocky Boy’s Reservation, the home of the Chippewa Cree Tribe. Which court can hear a claim from a crash there depends on the parties and the kind of road. 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)). A claim against a tribal member may belong in tribal court. We look at this question at the start of the case.
Montana law that applies
The details are on our Montana motorcycle accident lawyer page. In brief:
- Helmets are required only for riders and passengers under 18 (§ 61-9-417, MCA).
- Lane filtering is legal in limited conditions: passing stopped or slow traffic, going 10 mph or less, at no more than 20 mph, when it is safe (§ 61-8-392, MCA).
- Riders have the same rights on the road as any other driver (§ 61-8-359, MCA).
- Fault and deadline: You can recover if your share of fault is not greater than the defendants’ combined (§ 27-1-702, MCA). Most claims must be filed within 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Havre case?
Our office is in Great Falls, and we don’t have one in Havre. We handle cases statewide, and we travel to Havre for depositions, scene work, hearings and trial. We have also tried a case to a Phillips County jury in Malta. A motorcycle case often turns on whether the jury is fair to riders. That is decided in jury selection and at trial, and trial is where we spend our time.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We have courtroom experience. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom, and the firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties.
- We defend verdicts on appeal. We had a Phillips County jury’s $168,500 verdict reinstated by the Montana Supreme Court (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- We handle out-of-state defendants. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years.
- We belong to the trial bar. Both attorneys are members of AAJ and MTLA.
Related Havre pages: brain injuries · car accidents · all Havre injury practice areas.
Frequently Asked Questions
I wasn’t wearing a helmet on US-2. Can I still recover? Yes. Montana does not require adult riders to wear helmets. The insurer may argue that a helmet would have reduced a head injury, and we are ready to answer that argument with medical evidence.
Who is responsible for gravel on the Beaver Creek Highway? It depends on where the gravel came from. A contractor, a truck that dropped its load, or the agency responsible for maintaining the road may share responsibility. Claims against a government entity have special notice rules, so act early.
I’m from out of state and crashed while touring the Hi-Line. Where do I file? Usually in the county where the crash happened. For a crash near Havre, that is the Twelfth Judicial District Court. We can handle the case while you recover at home, and we will tell you when you need to be in Montana.
What if I crashed on Rocky Boy’s Reservation? Jurisdiction depends on who was involved and where the crash happened. A crash on a state highway involving non-members is usually a state or federal court case. A claim against a tribal member may belong in tribal court.
The driver says they never saw me. Does that help them? No. Drivers have a duty to look for motorcycles. “I never saw them” usually means the driver was not looking carefully, and that is negligence.
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.
