Billings, MontanaBillings Ski Accident
Billings Ski Accident Lawyers: Red Lodge Mountain, Chairlift and Snowboard Collision Injuries
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If you were hurt skiing or snowboarding at Red Lodge Mountain or another Montana ski area, you may have a claim when the injury came from someone’s carelessness rather than the inherent risks of the sport. Montana does not protect a ski area from its own negligence, or a skier or snowboarder who crashes into you by skiing out of control. Most claims must be filed within 3 years.
Hurt on the mountain? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Where do Billings skiers get hurt?
For most Billings skiers and snowboarders, the home hill is Red Lodge Mountain. The ski area’s own directions from Billings are I-90 west to the Laurel exit (Exit 434), then about 46 miles southwest on U.S. Highway 212 to Red Lodge, and up the Ski Run Road to the mountain (Red Lodge Mountain). School groups, families and weekend skiers make the trip all winter.
Many Billings residents also travel to Bridger Bowl and Big Sky Resort in the Bozeman area, and to Wyoming. The same Montana statutes govern every Montana ski area, but each has its own operator, lifts, terrain and insurance.
The injuries we hear about from local skiers tend to fall into a few groups:
- Collisions with skiers or snowboarders coming too fast from above, often where trails merge or near the base.
- Chairlift accidents: falls during loading or unloading, a chair that strikes a rider, or an evacuation gone wrong.
- Terrain park injuries from poorly built or maintained jumps and features.
- Collisions with snowmobiles, snowcats and grooming equipment operated by the ski area.
- Rental and lesson injuries, such as bindings set wrong or an instructor who took a beginner onto terrain beyond the student’s ability.
- The drive itself. Winter conditions on US 212 and the road up to the mountain cause crashes; those are ordinary car accident claims.
What happens after a ski accident at Red Lodge Mountain?
On the mountain. Ski patrol responds, provides first aid and writes an incident report. Ask patrol to record the name of any skier who hit you; a skier involved in a collision may not leave without giving identification or notifying the proper authorities (§ 23-2-736, MCA). Photograph the spot, any signs or missing signs, and the equipment involved.
Medical care. Beartooth Billings Clinic in Red Lodge is a state-designated trauma receiving facility, and serious injuries are often transferred to Billings Clinic or St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Billings, the region’s two Level 1 / Comprehensive Trauma Centers (DPHHS list). Keep every record from both.
Keep the paperwork. Your lift ticket or season pass, the rental agreement, lesson forms, your helmet and your equipment all matter. Do not give a recorded statement to the ski area’s insurer or the other skier’s insurer before talking with a lawyer.
The court. Red Lodge Mountain is in Carbon County, so a state-court lawsuit against the ski area would generally be filed in the Twenty-Second Judicial District, which covers Carbon, Stillwater and Big Horn Counties (§ 3-5-101, MCA), not in Billings. A claim against a skier who lives in Billings may be filed where that skier lives. Carbon County is also in the Billings Division of federal court (District of Montana), which may hear the case if the parties are from different states.
What risks does a skier accept, and what doesn’t the law excuse?
Montana’s statute lists the inherent dangers and risks of skiing, including changing weather and snow conditions, trees, rocks, variations in terrain, collisions with other skiers, and collisions with clearly visible or plainly marked equipment (§ 23-2-702, MCA). A skier accepts responsibility for injuries from those risks.
But the operator owes a duty of reasonable care (§ 23-2-733, MCA), must build, operate, maintain and repair its lifts to current standards (§ 23-2-734, MCA), and cannot use the statutes to immunize its own negligence (Mead v. M.S.B., Inc. (Mont. 1994)). And every skier must maintain control of speed and course so as to prevent injury to others (§ 23-2-736).
The line is fact-specific. The Montana Supreme Court recently held that a resort had no duty to fence a streambed below a beginner trail (Mullee v. Winter Sports, Inc., 2025 MT 113). Lift malfunctions, careless employees and unmarked equipment are different questions.
Montana law that applies
- Ski statutes: §§ 23-2-702 and 23-2-731 to -736, MCA, as summarized above.
- Releases: Montana’s general recreation-release statute does not apply to skiing (§ 27-1-754, MCA), and the enforceability of a lift-ticket or pass release is unsettled.
- Comparative fault (§ 27-1-702, MCA) and a 3-year deadline for most claims (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
See our Montana ski accident page for more on lift claims, releases and skier collisions.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Billings case?
A ski case may be filed in Red Lodge, Billings or federal court, and it is built on the ski area’s records, patrol reports and expert analysis of the lift or terrain. We are based in Great Falls and handle these cases statewide. Our attorneys travel to Billings and Carbon County for inspections, depositions, hearings and trial, and our firm has tried jury trials in Yellowstone County. We do not have a Billings office.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We try cases. More than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- We know federal court. More than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana over nine years.
- We protect verdicts. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 jury verdict for our client (Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137).
Related Billings pages: spinal cord injury · brain injury · all Billings personal injury cases
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sue Red Lodge Mountain for a ski injury? Possibly, if the injury came from the operator’s failure to use reasonable care, such as a lift malfunction or careless employee, rather than an inherent risk of skiing. The facts decide it.
A snowboarder from Billings hit me at Red Lodge. Can I bring a claim? Yes, if the snowboarder failed to maintain control of speed and course (§ 23-2-736, MCA). The rider’s homeowner’s or renter’s insurance may cover the claim.
Where would my Red Lodge Mountain case be filed? Generally in the Twenty-Second Judicial District for Carbon County, or in the federal court’s Billings Division if the parties are from different states.
Does my season pass waiver bar a claim? Not necessarily. The recreation-release statute does not apply to skiing (§ 27-1-754, MCA), and the enforceability of ski releases is unsettled. We review the document.
What should I keep after a ski accident? Your pass or ticket, rental and lesson paperwork, helmet and equipment, photographs, the patrol report, and the names of anyone involved.
Talk to a Billings Ski Accident 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.
