Havre FELA Lawyer | BNSF Railroad Injury & Train Crash

Havre, MontanaHavre Railroad & FELA

Havre Railroad & FELA Lawyers: BNSF Hi-Line Injuries, Havre Yard and Locomotive Shop Claims, Train Crashes

Boland Aarab PLLP.

Havre is a railroad town. BNSF’s Hi-Line main line runs through it, and trains stop in its yard to change crews. BNSF also runs a locomotive shop in Havre. If you work for BNSF and are hurt on the job, the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) covers your claim, not workers’ compensation. You have 3 years to file, and you can sue in state court in Havre or in federal court.

Hurt on the railroad, 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 Havre?

Havre has been a railroad town since its Great Northern station opened in 1893:

The main line. Havre station sits where BNSF’s Milk River and Hi Line subdivisions meet. Trains come in from Malta to the east and Shelby to the west, and crews change here. Train and engine crews report to Havre, work long runs across open prairie, and lay over away from home.
The Havre Locomotive Shop. BNSF runs one of its locomotive shops in Havre, where machinists, electricians and other shop crafts inspect and repair engines. BNSF has recognized the shop for its safety record, but even a well-run shop has dangers: heavy components, pits and elevated platforms, pressurized systems, diesel exhaust, and solvents.
The yard and track work. Switching, car inspection and track maintenance go on outdoors all year. On the Hi-Line, winter means ice on ladders and walkways, frozen hand brakes and switches, and snow that hides ballast and uneven footing.
Amtrak’s Empire Builder. The Empire Builder stops in Havre every day in each direction to refuel and service. BNSF owns the station and platforms.

The injuries follow: falls from equipment, crushing injuries in shop work, hand-brake and coupling injuries, worn-out backs and knees, hearing loss, and diseases linked to diesel exhaust and asbestos.

How does FELA work for a Havre railroader?

FELA makes a railroad liable when its negligence played any part, “even the slightest,” in causing a worker’s injury or death (45 U.S.C. § 51; CSX Transp., Inc. v. McBride, 564 U.S. 685 (2011)). It differs from workers’ compensation in ways that matter:

Full damages. You can recover lost wages and lost earning capacity, medical costs, and pain and suffering. Workers’ comp pays a set schedule of benefits instead.
Safety-statute violations. If a violation of the Safety Appliance Act or the Locomotive Inspection Act contributed to your injury, your own fault cannot reduce your recovery (45 U.S.C. § 53; 49 U.S.C. §§ 20302, 20701). That matters in a locomotive shop, where the engine and all of its parts must be safe to operate.
Railroad defenses FELA takes away. The railroad cannot argue that you assumed the risk of the job (§ 54), and any rule or release designed to exempt it from FELA liability is void (§ 55).
Protection from retaliation. It is illegal to retaliate against a worker for reporting an injury or a safety hazard. A retaliation complaint must be filed with OSHA within 180 days (49 U.S.C. § 20109).

For the full picture, see our Montana FELA and railroad injury lawyer page.

What happens after a railroad injury in Havre?

Report it, carefully. Railroad rules require you to report an injury. Describe what happened accurately. Do not let anyone reword your report to say the injury was your fault, or that the equipment was fine. Get medical care from your own doctor; you are not required to be treated only by a company doctor. Before you talk with a claim agent, you should speak with a lawyer. Claim agents gather evidence for the railroad.

Where the case can be filed. A FELA case can be filed in state or federal court. If it is filed in Montana state court, the railroad cannot remove it to federal court (28 U.S.C. § 1445(a)). For a Havre injury, the state court is the Twelfth Judicial District Court at the Hill County Courthouse, 315 4th Street (§ 3-5-101, MCA). The federal court is the Great Falls Division of the U.S. District Court, which covers Hill County (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2(c)(3)). The choice of court is the injured worker’s.

Medical care. Northern Montana Hospital is not a designated trauma facility (DPHHS, Nov. 2025), so seriously injured workers are often transferred to Benefis in Great Falls (ACS Level 2) or to Billings.

What about crossing crashes and derailments on the Hi-Line?

People who don’t work for the railroad bring ordinary negligence claims, not FELA claims. That includes drivers and passengers hit at a crossing along US-2, pedestrians near the tracks, and people hurt in a derailment. These cases turn on perishable evidence: the locomotive event recorder (49 C.F.R. § 229.135), forward-facing video, signal and gate records (49 C.F.R. part 234), and sight lines that change once the vegetation is cut back. Montana’s 3-year deadline applies (§ 27-2-204, MCA).

Montana law that applies

FELA is federal law, but Montana courts hear FELA cases, and Montana juries decide them when the case is filed in state court. The FELA deadline is 3 years from the injury (45 U.S.C. § 56). For an occupational disease or a cumulative injury, the clock starts when the injury shows itself, measured by when you knew or should have known about it and its cause (Urie v. Thompson, 337 U.S. 163 (1949)).

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Havre case?

Havre is about 110 miles from our office on US-87. We handle railroad cases statewide, and we come to Havre to meet injured workers and families, inspect equipment and sites, take depositions, and appear in court. The federal court for Hill County is in Great Falls. We do not have an office in Havre.

The Boland Aarab Way

We build cases for trial, and for appeal. We had a Phillips County jury’s verdict from the Hi-Line reinstated by the Montana Supreme Court (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137). The Boland Aarab appellate record reaches back to 1977 (appellate results).
We know both courts FELA uses. The firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years.
We have courtroom experience. Our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom, and Samir Aarab has argued twice before the Ninth Circuit.
We belong to the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to AAJ and MTLA.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was hurt at the Havre Locomotive Shop. Is that a FELA claim? Yes, if you are a railroad employee hurt on the job. If a defect in the locomotive contributed to your injury, the Locomotive Inspection Act may apply. Then your own fault cannot reduce your recovery.

Can I file my FELA case in Havre instead of federal court? Generally, yes. You can file in the Twelfth Judicial District Court in Havre, and the railroad cannot remove a FELA case filed in state court. Where to file is a decision to make with your lawyer.

Do I have to talk to the BNSF claim agent? You have to report the injury. You do not have to give the claim agent a recorded statement or sign releases before you get advice. Anything you say can be used to reduce your claim.

My back and knees wore out after years in the Havre yard. Do I have a case? Possibly. FELA covers cumulative injuries caused by the railroad’s negligence, such as unsafe walkways and ballast or poorly maintained equipment. The 3-year clock generally starts when you knew, or should have known, about the injury and its cause.

I was hit by a train at a crossing near Havre. Is that FELA? No. FELA covers railroad employees. A driver or passenger has a negligence claim under Montana law, generally with a 3-year deadline. The crossing and the train’s recorder data need to be preserved quickly.

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.