Kalispell, MontanaKalispell Oil Field Accident
Kalispell Oil Field Accident Lawyers: Rig, Rotation and Fuel-Hauling Injuries for Flathead Valley Workers
Boland Aarab PLLP.
Flathead County has no major oil field, but some valley residents work rotations in Montana’s oil country and the Bakken, and fuel haulers run the valley’s highways every day. If you were hurt, you may have both a workers’ comp claim and a lawsuit against other companies on the site. Most lawsuits must be filed within three years.
Hurt on a rig, a well site or a fuel haul? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
How do oil field injuries reach Kalispell families?
This is a Kalispell page, so we’ll be direct about the geography. The Flathead Valley is timber, tourism and health-care country, not an oil patch. Oil and gas cases still come to Flathead families in three main ways:
- Rotation work east of the mountains. Montana’s older oil fields lie east of the Continental Divide, in the country around Cut Bank and Shelby. Farther east, the Bakken stretches across eastern Montana into North Dakota. Some workers from Kalispell, Columbia Falls and Whitefish drive US-2 over Marias Pass for “two-weeks-on” hitches as floorhands, derrickhands, truck drivers, welders and service-company hands. The injury happens far from home; recovery happens here.
- The drive to and from the hitch. US-2 over Marias Pass and across the Hi-Line is the main route east, and long hours on a rotation followed by a long winter drive is a dangerous combination. When the drive is part of the job, it can become part of the case.
- Fuel and propane in the valley. Tanker trucks deliver gasoline, diesel and propane to stations, businesses and homes throughout the Flathead Valley, on US-93, US-2 and rural roads. Tanker rollovers, fueling fires and propane explosions are oil-and-gas injuries that happen in Kalispell.
Oil field injuries are often catastrophic:
- burns from flash fires;
- crush injuries from pipe handling;
- falls from derricks;
- hydrogen sulfide exposure;
- truck crashes caused by fatigue.
Several companies usually share a single well site (the operator, the drilling contractor and service companies), and that is what opens the door to third-party claims.
What happens after an oil field accident for a Kalispell worker?
Report and document. Report the injury in writing to your employer within 30 days for workers’ comp, and keep a copy (§ 39-71-603, MCA). Write down every company on location that day: the operator, the rig contractor, and each service or trucking company. Photos, the job-safety analysis and the names of coworkers disappear fastest once the crew rotates out.
Medical care close to home. After initial treatment near the site, many workers come home for surgery, rehab and follow-up. Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, which has neurosurgical services, is where many Flathead workers continue their care. Keep every record, from both places.
Where the case goes.
- Montana injuries: a third-party lawsuit can generally be filed where the injury happened or where a defendant resides. A case filed in Flathead County goes to the Eleventh Judicial District Court at the Flathead County Justice Center, 920 South Main Street, Kalispell. A federal case would be in the Missoula Division, or in the division covering the county where the injury happened; Glacier and Toole Counties are in the federal Great Falls Division.
- North Dakota injuries: a North Dakota injury may be governed by North Dakota law and belong in North Dakota courts. We will tell you honestly whether a Montana forum is available.
- Valley tanker crashes and fuel fires: these are handled in Flathead County like any other serious injury case.
Montana law that applies
The key points; the full discussion is on our Montana oil field accident lawyer page.
- Workers’ comp and third parties: comp is usually the only remedy against your employer (§ 39-71-411, MCA), but you can sue other companies whose negligence caused the injury (§ 39-71-412, MCA).
- OSHA: the general industry standards (29 C.F.R. part 1910) cover most drilling and servicing work (OSHA interpretation, 2009).
- Oilfield truck drivers have special hours-of-service rules, including a 24-hour restart (49 C.F.R. § 395.1(d)). Those rules don’t excuse driving while fatigued.
- Defective equipment: strict product liability applies to unreasonably dangerous products (§ 27-1-719, MCA).
- Deadline: 3 years for most Montana injury and death claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Kalispell case?
Great Falls sits between the Flathead and Montana’s oil country east of the mountains, and we handle serious injury cases statewide. Our attorneys travel to Kalispell for client meetings, depositions and hearings, and to the site and the defendants wherever they are. We are candid about where your case should be filed. If it belongs outside Montana, we will tell you.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We prepare every case for trial, backed by more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We handle federal litigation. More than 40 federal cases in Montana over nine years, and two Ninth Circuit arguments by Samir Aarab. Multi-company oil cases often end up in federal court.
- We protect results on appeal. See our appellate record.
- We answer your calls ourselves. You work with the lawyers, not a call center.
We also handle burn injury cases in Kalispell and truck accident 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 live in Kalispell but was hurt on a rig east of the mountains. Can I hire a lawyer here? Yes. We are based in Great Falls and handle Montana oil field cases statewide, including for workers who live in the Flathead. Venue depends on where the injury happened and where the defendants are.
I was hurt in the North Dakota Bakken. Can my case be filed in Flathead County? Maybe not. North Dakota injuries are often governed by North Dakota law and filed there. We will review where the defendants are and tell you honestly what your options are.
A fuel tanker rolled on US-2 near Columbia Falls and I was hurt. Is that an oil field case? It is a trucking and hazardous-materials case, and it would usually be filed in Flathead County District Court in Kalispell, or in federal court in Missoula.
Can I sue the operator if my employer was a service company? Often yes. The operator and other contractors on the site are third parties to you. If their negligence contributed, you can sue them while keeping your comp benefits.
How long do I have? Report to your employer within 30 days, file the comp claim within 12 months, and file a Montana third-party lawsuit within 3 years.
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.
