Kalispell, MontanaKalispell Motorcycle Accident
Kalispell Motorcycle Accident Lawyers: Going-to-the-Sun Road, MT-35 and Flathead Valley Bike Crashes
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If you were hurt riding a motorcycle in the Flathead Valley, Montana gives you three years to file most claims. You can recover even if you were partly at fault, and riding without a helmet as an adult is legal. Cases are filed in the Eleventh Judicial District in Kalispell. A crash inside Glacier National Park can involve federal claim rules.
Hurt on a motorcycle near Kalispell, Whitefish, Bigfork or West Glacier? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Why are Flathead Valley roads hard on motorcyclists?
Riders come to northwest Montana for the same roads that make crashes serious.
- Going-to-the-Sun Road. The road over Logan Pass is narrow and full of curves, with rock walls on one side and long drops on the other. Once the alpine section opens, usually by early July, it fills with cars, shuttles, cyclists and pedestrians at pullouts. The Park Service bars vehicles longer than 21 feet or wider than 8 feet between Avalanche Creek and Rising Sun, but drivers of legal-size SUVs and rental cars are still craning to see the view. A car drifting over the centerline in a blind curve leaves a rider nowhere to go.
- MT-35 on the east shore. The route from Evergreen through Creston and Bigfork, then south toward Polson, is pinned between Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountains. It has tight curves, driveways, summer fruit stands and slow traffic that tempts drivers to pass.
- US-2 to Marias Pass. East of Columbia Falls, US-2 runs through Bad Rock Canyon and along the Middle Fork to the Continental Divide. It has long sweepers, grades, wildlife and summer construction.
- MT-83 and the Swan Valley. MT-83 meets MT-35 near Bigfork and runs south through forested two-lane country with deer, elk and logging traffic.
- Town traffic. In Kalispell, riders deal with left-turning drivers on Idaho Street and Main Street, and with roundabouts on the bypass. The classic “I didn’t see the motorcycle” crash happens in town as often as on the open road.
Season matters too. Early and late in the year, riders meet sand and gravel left from winter, frost in shaded curves, and low sun at dawn and dusk.
What happens after a motorcycle accident in Kalispell?
Who responds depends on where you went down.
- On US-2, US-93, MT-35 and MT-83, it is usually the Montana Highway Patrol, which has its District VI headquarters in Kalispell.
- In Kalispell, Whitefish or Columbia Falls, it is the city police.
- On county roads, it is the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office.
- Inside Glacier National Park, National Park Service rangers respond.
Riders with serious injuries are usually taken to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, or flown there from remote stretches by Logan Health’s air-ambulance program, long known as A.L.E.R.T.
Preserve the bike and your gear. Don’t let the insurer take your motorcycle to salvage before it has been photographed and, if needed, inspected. Your helmet, jacket and boots show where and how you were struck.
Where the case goes.
- A state-court case from Flathead County is filed in the Eleventh Judicial District Court at the Flathead County Justice Center, 920 South Main Street, Kalispell.
- If the other driver was a visitor from another state, the case may be moved to federal court in the Missoula Division, at the Russell Smith Courthouse.
- Crashes on MT-35 south of the county line fall in Lake County, which is the Twentieth Judicial District.
- If a federal employee or federal road condition inside the park played a role, the claim must first be presented to the federal agency in writing within 2 years (28 U.S.C. § 2401(b)).
Montana law that applies
A summary; our Montana motorcycle accident lawyer page covers it in depth.
- Helmets: Montana requires helmets only for riders and passengers under 18 (§ 61-9-417, MCA).
- Lane filtering: allowed since 2021, when passing stopped or slow traffic (10 mph or less) at no more than 20 mph, where safe (§ 61-8-392, MCA).
- Equal rights: a rider has the same rights on the road as any driver (§ 61-8-359, MCA).
- Shared fault: you recover if your share is not greater than the defendants’ combined, reduced by your percentage (§ 27-1-702, MCA).
- Deadline: 3 years for most claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
Insurers sometimes suggest that a rider “assumed the risk” of a mountain road. The law asks whether someone else was negligent, not whether you chose to ride a beautiful, difficult road.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Kalispell case?
We are based in Great Falls and represent injured riders across Montana. We travel to Kalispell and Missoula for depositions, scene inspections, hearings and trial. Motorcycle cases often turn on reconstruction, sight lines and a jury’s view of riders. We prepare for that from the start, whether the case ends in a settlement or in front of a Flathead County jury.
The Boland Aarab Way
- Trial experience. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom and have tried more than a dozen jury trials.
- Appellate strength. We had a jury’s $168,500 verdict for a rear-ended driver reinstated by the Montana Supreme Court (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
- Federal-court experience. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, which matters when a park crash or an out-of-state driver brings a case into federal court.
- Direct access. You talk with the attorneys handling your case.
We also handle brain injury cases in Kalispell and spinal cord injury cases in Kalispell. See our Kalispell personal injury page.
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Frequently Asked Questions
I crashed on Going-to-the-Sun Road because a car crossed the centerline. Who is responsible? Usually the driver who crossed the line, and that driver’s insurer. If a park vehicle or a federal road condition was involved, a written federal claim must be presented within 2 years.
Will not wearing a helmet hurt my Flathead County case? Adults are not required to wear helmets in Montana, so riding without one is not illegal. The insurer may still argue about how it affected a head injury, and we address that with medical evidence.
Who investigates a motorcycle crash on MT-35 near Bigfork? Usually the Montana Highway Patrol. South of the Flathead–Lake County line, the case would also be in a different judicial district.
Can I recover if I hit gravel left on the road? Possibly, if a contractor or public entity left a hazard it should have addressed. Claims against government entities require written notice first.
Where would my Kalispell motorcycle lawsuit be heard? In the Eleventh Judicial District Court at the Flathead County Justice Center, unless it is moved to the federal court in Missoula.
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.
