Missoula, MontanaMissoula Product Liability
Missoula Product Liability Lawyers: Defective Products, Outdoor Gear, Vehicle Parts and Recalled Products in Missoula County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If a defective product injured you or a family member in Missoula, the manufacturer and the sellers can be held strictly liable, which means you do not have to prove they were careless. You must prove the product was defective and unreasonably dangerous and that the defect caused the injury. Keep the product exactly as it is, and call before you hand it to anyone.
Key Takeaways
- A seller of a product in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous to the user is liable for the physical harm it causes, even if it “exercised all possible care” (§ 27-1-719, MCA).
- An out-of-state manufacturer can generally be sued in the county where the injured Montanan lives (§ 25-2-122(2), MCA), but it will often move the case to the federal courthouse in Missoula.
- Montana has a 10-year statute of repose for most products, with exceptions (§ 27-1-719(6)(b)).
Hurt by a defective product in Missoula County? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
What kinds of product cases come out of Missoula?
Product cases follow the way people live and work, and western Montana life puts a lot of weight on equipment. A defect can turn an ordinary day into a catastrophic injury:
- Outdoor and recreation gear. Missoula sits where the Clark Fork, Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers meet, with trails and national forest in every direction. Rafts and inflatable kayaks, climbing and hunting equipment, bicycle frames and components, and helmets are all products, and a failure in any of them can be a design, manufacturing or warning defect.
- Vehicles and vehicle parts. Tires, airbags, seat belts, brakes and steering systems matter on I-90 through Hellgate Canyon and U.S. 93 over Evaro Hill in winter. A crash case can also be a product case when a defect caused the crash or made the injuries worse.
- Heating and household products. Missoula’s long, cold winters mean furnaces, space heaters, wood stoves and generators run for months. Carbon monoxide leaks, fires and burns from defective heating equipment are serious product claims.
- Power tools and machinery used in home projects, landscaping and the trades, including saws, splitters and lifts without adequate guards.
- Batteries and electronics, including lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes, scooters and tools that overheat or ignite.
- Drugs and medical devices, which often proceed in national litigation (see our mass tort page).
What happens after a product injury in Missoula?
Medical care. Seriously injured people are usually treated at Providence St. Patrick Hospital, the region’s ACS Level 2 / State Regional Trauma Hospital, or at Community Medical Center (DPHHS). Make sure the records describe what the product did.
Preserve the product. This is the single most important step. Do not repair it, throw it away or return it to the store. If a vehicle was involved, tell the tow yard or insurer in writing not to salvage it. If the product belongs to an employer, a rental shop or an outfitter, a lawyer can send a written preservation demand. Manufacturers and their insurers sometimes ask to take a product for “testing.” Do not agree until an inspection protocol is in place with your own engineer present.
Find the paper trail. Receipts, manuals, packaging, warranty cards, photos of labels and serial numbers, and the date and store of purchase all help identify the manufacturer and the component makers.
Report it. A report to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, or to NHTSA for vehicles, creates a record and can reveal whether others reported the same problem.
Which court. Montana’s venue statute generally allows a suit against an out-of-state corporation in the county where the plaintiff lives (§ 25-2-122(2)), so a Missoula resident can often file in the Fourth Judicial District Court at the Missoula County Courthouse, 200 West Broadway (Missoula County District Court). Because most manufacturers are incorporated elsewhere, they frequently remove the case to the Missoula Division of the U.S. District Court at the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse, 201 East Broadway (U.S. District Court, Missoula). That division also hears cases from Flathead, Granite, Lake, Lincoln, Mineral, Ravalli and Sanders Counties. Montana product law still applies there, and appeals go to the Ninth Circuit.
Montana law that applies
- Three kinds of defect: manufacturing, design and warning defects. Montana bars “state of the art” evidence in strict-liability cases (Sternhagen v. Dow Co., 935 P.2d 1139 (Mont. 1997)), a rule the Montana Supreme Court announced in answering a certified question from the federal court in Montana.
- Defenses include unreasonable misuse and knowingly using a product with a discovered defect, weighed under comparative fault (§ 27-1-719(4)-(5); § 27-1-702, MCA). The statute also includes a reasonable-alternative defense and a rebuttable presumption for products that met mandatory government standards.
- Retailers. A seller that did not make the product may be dismissed unless an exception applies, such as a manufacturer that cannot be identified or brought into a Montana court.
- Deadlines: generally 3 years from the injury (§ 27-2-204, MCA), and a 10-year repose period measured from first sale, with exceptions for concealment, certain recalls and latent diseases.
For a full explanation, see our Montana product liability lawyer page.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Missoula case?
Product cases are fought against national companies with national defense firms, and they are usually decided by engineering evidence. We are based in Great Falls and handle product cases statewide. We bring in the engineers the case needs, and our attorneys travel to Missoula for inspections, depositions, hearings and trial. Because so many of these cases end up in federal court, our experience in the District of Montana matters.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We know federal court. 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 try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We protect verdicts. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137. The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977.
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves.
We also handle Missoula ATV accident and Missoula burn injury cases, and other Missoula personal injury claims.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue an out-of-state manufacturer in Missoula? Generally yes. Montana law allows a suit against an out-of-state corporation in the county where the injured person lives, although the company may move the case to the federal court in Missoula.
What should I do with the product that hurt me? Keep it exactly as it is, along with the packaging, manual and receipt. Do not give it to the manufacturer, the store or an insurer without an agreed inspection protocol.
My raft (or bike, or climbing gear) failed near Missoula. Is that a product case or my own fault? It depends on why it failed. Ordinary, foreseeable use is not misuse, and any fault on your part usually reduces rather than bars a recovery. An engineer’s inspection answers the question.
Does the product have to be recalled? No. Many defects are never recalled. A recall can be strong evidence, and a government-mandated recall related to the injury is an exception to the 10-year repose period.
What if I was hurt by a defective machine at work in Missoula? A claim against the machine’s manufacturer is a third-party claim that can proceed alongside workers’ compensation. We handle the third-party claim; you will need separate counsel for the workers’ compensation claim itself.
Talk to a Missoula Product Liability Lawyer
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.
