Butte Railroad FELA Lawyer | BNSF, UP & BA&P Injuries

Butte, MontanaButte Railroad & FELA

Butte Railroad & FELA Lawyers: BNSF, Union Pacific and BA&P Railway Injuries in Butte and Silver Bow

Boland Aarab PLLP.

Railroad workers hurt in Butte are covered by the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), not workers’ compensation. A Butte FELA case can be filed in the Second Judicial District Court in Uptown Butte, and a railroad cannot move it to federal court. You have three years to file, but evidence and witness memories fade much faster.

Hurt working for a railroad in Butte, or lost a family member to a railroad injury or disease? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

What railroad work happens in and around Butte?

Butte has been a rail town since the copper boom, and three railroads still meet here.

BNSF Railway interchanges with the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific at Butte, and the former Montana Union trackage near Silver Bow is owned by Union Pacific and leased to BNSF.
Union Pacific runs its line north from Monida Pass on the Idaho border to Silver Bow, just west of Butte.
The Butte, Anaconda & Pacific Railway (BA&P), a short line operated by Patriot Rail, runs a 26-mile main line between Butte and Anaconda, plus about 37 more miles of yard and industrial track. It interchanges with BNSF at Butte and with Union Pacific at Silver Bow. Its traffic includes copper concentrates, acids, LPG, petroleum products, slag, and impacted soils and tailings from mine cleanup.
The Port of Montana at Silver Bow is a transload hub where freight moves between rail and truck for both BNSF and Union Pacific, with rail-car storage and switching.

That mix means switching, car storage, hazardous commodities and heavy industrial loads. Common Butte-area injuries include falls from cars and ladders, coupling and uncoupling injuries, back and shoulder injuries from hand brakes and switches, walkway and ballast falls in snow and ice, and exposure to diesel exhaust, dust and chemicals.

How does Butte’s climate affect railroad injury cases?

Butte’s rail yards sit above 5,500 feet, where winter brings sub-zero mornings, packed snow and ice. Railroads have a duty to give workers a reasonably safe place to work, and that includes clearing walkways, maintaining footing near switches and providing equipment that works in cold weather. A hand brake that is hard to release at 10 below, or a walkway buried in ice, is not “just winter.” It may be negligence, or a violation of a federal safety statute.

What happens after a railroad injury in Butte?

The railroad’s process starts immediately. A supervisor will ask for an injury report, and a claim agent may soon call. You must report the injury, but you do not have to give a recorded statement to the claim agent, and you can see your own doctor. Write down names of witnesses and take photographs of the location and equipment if you safely can.

Medical care. Serious injuries in Butte are usually taken to St. James Healthcare, which DPHHS designates as an ACS Level III / State Area Trauma Hospital (DPHHS, Nov. 2025). Complex injuries may be transferred to Missoula or Billings.

Where the case goes. FELA gives state and federal courts concurrent jurisdiction (45 U.S.C. § 56), and the choice is the worker’s. For a Butte injury, that means:

the Second Judicial District Court, which serves Silver Bow County (§ 3-5-101(2), MCA), at the Silver Bow County Courthouse, 155 West Granite Street; or
the U.S. District Court, Butte Division, at the Mike Mansfield Federal Courthouse, 400 North Main Street (mtd.uscourts.gov).

If the case is filed in state court, the railroad cannot remove it to federal court (28 U.S.C. § 1445(a)). For a Montana resident, Montana’s venue statute also allows a FELA case against a railroad to be filed in any county where the railroad does business (§ 25-2-122(4), MCA). Choosing the forum is one of the first strategic decisions we make with you.

Montana law that applies

FELA is federal law, applied in Montana courts. The essentials are below; our Montana FELA and railroad injury page covers them in depth.

A railroad is liable if its negligence played any part, “even the slightest,” in the injury (45 U.S.C. § 51; CSX Transp., Inc. v. McBride, 564 U.S. 685 (2011)).
A violation of the Safety Appliance Act (49 U.S.C. § 20302) or the Locomotive Inspection Act (49 U.S.C. § 20701) that contributes to an injury means the worker’s own fault cannot reduce the recovery (45 U.S.C. § 53). Assumption of risk is abolished (§ 54).
3 years to file (45 U.S.C. § 56); for occupational disease, the clock turns on when the injury manifests itself (Urie v. Thompson, 337 U.S. 163 (1949)).
Retaliation for reporting an injury or hazard is illegal; an OSHA complaint must be filed within 180 days (49 U.S.C. § 20109(d)).

Whether a particular short-line or switching employer is a “common carrier by railroad” covered by FELA depends on the facts. We sort that out at the start.

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Butte case?

Great Falls is itself a railroad town, and we are based there. We handle cases statewide, and our attorneys travel to Butte to meet clients, inspect equipment and yards with experts, take depositions and try cases. Much of a FELA case is built from the railroad’s own records, rules and inspection data, which we obtain through discovery no matter where the case is filed.

We do not have a Butte office, and we have not tried a case to a Silver Bow County jury; our jury trials have been in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties.

The Boland Aarab Way

Courtroom experience. More than 4,000 hours in the courtroom and more than a dozen jury trials.
State and federal experience. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years, and two Ninth Circuit arguments by Samir Aarab. That matters when choosing between the Second Judicial District and the Butte Division.
An appellate record that reaches back to 1977 (appellate results).
The trial bar. Both attorneys are AAJ and MTLA members; Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.

We also handle workplace injury cases in Butte and catastrophic injury cases in Butte. See our Butte personal injury page.

Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sue the railroad in Butte instead of federal court? Yes. A FELA case can be filed in the Second Judicial District Court in Butte, and the railroad cannot remove it. You can also choose the federal Butte Division if that serves your case better.

I work for the short line between Butte and Anaconda. Does FELA cover me? It may. FELA covers employees of common carriers by railroad in interstate commerce, and the BA&P interchanges with BNSF and Union Pacific. We review your employer and duties to confirm coverage.

I slipped on ice in a Butte yard. Is that the railroad’s fault? It can be. Railroads must provide a reasonably safe place to work, including walkways and footing near switches in winter. Your recovery is reduced only by your own share of fault.

Do I have to talk to the claim agent? You must report the injury, but you do not have to give the claim agent a recorded statement. Talk with a lawyer first.

What about hearing loss or lung disease after years around Butte rail and mine traffic? Occupational disease is covered by FELA. The three-year clock generally starts when the condition manifests itself, so do not wait once you have a diagnosis.

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.