Kalispell Premises Liability Lawyers

Kalispell Premises Liability lawyer icon, Boland Aarab PLLP

Kalispell, MontanaKalispell Premises Liability

Kalispell Premises Liability Lawyers: Slip and Fall, Icy Sidewalk and Negligent Security Claims in Flathead County

Boland Aarab PLLP.

If you were hurt in a fall on someone else’s property in Kalispell, the owner or the business in control may be responsible. Montana requires property owners to use reasonable care. Ice and snow, even when easy to see, do not excuse them on their own. Most claims must be filed within three years, and video evidence is often gone within days.

Hurt in a fall at a Flathead Valley store, rental, hotel or parking lot? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Why are falls such a common injury in the Flathead Valley?

Kalispell’s winters and its visitor economy create more fall hazards than most people expect.

  • Freeze and thaw. From November into spring, snow melts in the afternoon sun and refreezes after dark. Meltwater dripping from a roof edge or a downspout can turn a clear entrance into a sheet of ice by morning. Parking lots that were plowed, but never sanded, are a common place for serious falls.
  • Sidewalks have an owner. Kalispell’s city code makes the owner or resident responsible for clearing snow from the sidewalk next to private property (Kalispell City Code § 24-17). The city says it clears the sidewalks at its own facilities within 36 hours after snowfall ends. Whitefish’s code requires sidewalks and shared-use paths to be reasonably cleared within 24 hours (Whitefish City Code § 7-2-2). Whether a code violation helps prove a civil claim depends on the facts. It does show what the community expects of owners.
  • Short-term rentals and resort lodging. Guests who come for Whitefish Mountain Resort, Flathead Lake or Glacier National Park stay in hotels, condominiums and vacation rentals. Unlit exterior stairs, loose deck boards and icy walkways at a rental are hazards the guest had no chance to learn about. A rental often involves an owner, a management company and a snow-removal contractor, and each of them may be responsible.
  • Growth and new construction. New shopping centers, apartments and subdivisions around Kalispell bring unfinished walkways, temporary ramps and construction debris in areas the public uses.
  • Assaults on business property. Bars, apartment complexes and motels can be responsible when a foreseeable assault happens because of broken locks, dark parking areas or ignored warnings.

What happens after a slip and fall in Kalispell?

Medical care. Serious fall injuries in the valley are usually treated at Logan Health Medical Center on Buffalo Hill in Kalispell or at Logan Health – Whitefish. Hip fractures, wrist fractures, shoulder tears and head injuries are common. A head injury in an older adult should be checked the same day, even if the person feels fine.

Report it and preserve evidence. Tell the manager, landlord or front desk, and ask for a copy of the incident report. Photograph the ice, the spill or the broken step before it changes. Store and hotel cameras often record over footage within days. We send written preservation demands right away, and we also ask for snow-removal logs and contractor invoices. Those records show when the area was last treated.

Who gets notified. If the fall involved a crime, such as an assault in a parking lot, the Kalispell Police Department handles it inside city limits. Whitefish and Columbia Falls have their own police, and the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office covers the rest of the county. A fall on property owned by the City of Kalispell, Flathead County or the State requires a written claim first (§ 2-9-301, MCA). A fall on federal property in Glacier National Park may require a written administrative claim to the federal agency.

Court. A state-court case is filed in the Eleventh Judicial District Court, which serves only Flathead County, at the Flathead County Justice Center, 920 South Main Street, Suite 310, Kalispell. A Flathead County jury would decide it. National retail and hotel chains sometimes remove cases to the U.S. District Court’s Missoula Division, at the Russell Smith Courthouse. A fall at a lodge or business in Polson or elsewhere in Lake County belongs in the Twentieth Judicial District instead.

Montana law that applies

The short version follows. For the full treatment, see our Montana premises liability lawyer page.

Who can be responsible for a fall in Kalispell?

  • The property owner, including a landlord that controls stairs, walkways and parking lots.
  • The business or tenant operating the space.
  • A property management company hired to run a complex or a vacation rental.
  • A snow-removal or janitorial contractor that skipped a scheduled visit or did the work poorly.
  • A builder responsible for a defective stair, ramp or railing.
  • A government entity, for a public building, after written notice.

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Kalispell case?

Fall cases are won with fast evidence work, medical proof and a willingness to try the case. We are based in Great Falls and handle premises cases across Montana. Our attorneys travel to Kalispell and Whitefish to inspect the property, take depositions and appear at the Justice Center for hearings and trial. We do not have a Kalispell office, and we will tell you plainly how we handle the travel.

The Boland Aarab Way

  • We try cases against property owners and public entities. A jury returned a $115,000 net verdict for our client in a municipal negligence case (Jack v. City of White Sulphur Springs).
  • We build cases for trial. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom and have tried more than a dozen jury trials.
  • We protect verdicts. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
  • We are part of the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to the American Association for Justice and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association.

We also handle dog bite cases in Kalispell and brain 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 slipped on an icy sidewalk in front of a Kalispell business. Who is responsible? Often the property owner or the business, and sometimes its snow-removal contractor. Kalispell’s code puts sidewalk clearing on the adjacent owner or resident, and Montana law asks whether the owner used reasonable care.

I fell at a vacation rental near Whitefish. Can I bring a claim if I live out of state? Yes. The case would generally be filed in Flathead County. We can handle it while you recover at home, and we identify the owner, the manager and any contractor.

Does it matter that the ice was easy to see? Not by itself. An owner who should expect guests to cross the ice anyway must still take reasonable steps, such as sanding, salting or providing another route.

I fell in a City of Kalispell or Flathead County building. What is different? A written claim must be presented before suit, and damage caps apply to government entities. Talk with a lawyer promptly.

Where would my Kalispell fall case be heard? In the Eleventh Judicial District Court at the Flathead County Justice Center, unless an out-of-state defendant moves it to 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.