Helena, MontanaHelena Toxic Exposure
Helena Toxic Exposure Lawyers: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, Asbestosis and Chemical Exposure Claims in Lewis and Clark County
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If you or a family member in Helena has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis or another asbestos-related disease, or was made sick by a chemical exposure, you may have a claim against the companies that made, sold or failed to control the substance. Asbestos disease can appear decades after exposure. Montana’s discovery rule can help, but the clock may start when you first suspect the connection.
Key Takeaways
- For a hidden injury, the limitation period does not begin until the facts are discovered, or should have been, when they are self-concealing or the defendant prevented discovery (§ 27-2-102(3), MCA).
- Montana’s 10-year product repose rule has an exception for latent respiratory disease or malignancy in claims against the manufacturer (§ 27-1-719(6)(b), MCA).
- EPA advises anyone with vermiculite attic insulation to assume it contains asbestos and not disturb it (EPA).
Diagnosed with an asbestos disease, or worried an exposure made you sick? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Why is asbestos a Helena problem?
Montana’s asbestos history. The vermiculite mine near Libby may have produced about 80 percent of the world’s vermiculite, and the ore was contaminated with a form of asbestos known as Libby Amphibole, which causes lung cancer, mesothelioma and other lung disease. The mine closed in 1990. EPA placed the Libby site on the National Priorities List in 2002, and in 2009 EPA and the Department of Health and Human Services declared a Public Health Emergency there, the first in EPA’s history (EPA, Libby Asbestos Site). EPA says Libby was the source of more than 70 percent of the vermiculite sold in the United States from 1919 to 1990, much of it as loose attic and wall insulation. Older homes in Helena, like older homes across the country, may still have it.
Helena’s older buildings. Helena is a historic city. The Capitol, the downtown blocks along Last Chance Gulch, the Mansion District, older schools, churches, hospitals and state office buildings were built or renovated in the decades when asbestos was common in pipe and boiler insulation, fireproofing, plaster, floor tile, roofing and siding. Asbestos that stays intact is a lower risk; the danger comes when it is cut, sanded, torn out or allowed to deteriorate. That is why renovation and demolition are where many exposures happen.
The state’s asbestos program is here. Montana’s Department of Environmental Quality runs its Asbestos Control Program from Helena. Before most renovation or demolition, an inspection by a Montana-accredited asbestos inspector is required, and removal of friable asbestos-containing material requires a DEQ project permit (DEQ Asbestos Control Program). DEQ’s permit records, which can be searched by address, can show whether a building was inspected and whether abatement was done properly, and they can become important evidence.
Who is exposed. Construction and renovation workers, plumbers, pipefitters, electricians, boiler and maintenance workers, insulators, railroad shop workers, and family members exposed to dust on a worker’s clothes. Many are diagnosed 20, 30 or more years later, often after they have moved or retired.
Other exposures. Lead and arsenic in soil, solvents, pesticides, carbon monoxide and chemical releases from rail or highway accidents also cause toxic-exposure claims in the Helena area.
What happens after an asbestos diagnosis in Helena?
- Get the diagnosis documented. Mesothelioma, asbestosis, asbestos-related lung cancer and pleural disease are diagnosed with imaging, pathology and pulmonary testing. Patients in Helena may begin at St. Peter’s Health and be referred to specialists elsewhere. Every record matters.
- Build the exposure history. Where you worked, which job sites and buildings, what products you handled or were near, and who else worked there. Coworkers, union records, Social Security earnings records and old photographs help identify the products and companies.
- Identify the defendants. Usually not your employer, whose liability is generally limited to workers’ compensation (§ 39-71-411, MCA). The claims are against the manufacturers and suppliers of asbestos products, building owners and contractors whose work released fibers, and other third parties (§ 39-71-412). Many asbestos manufacturers went through bankruptcy and set up trusts that pay claims; those trust claims have their own procedures.
- Protect the deadline. Montana’s discovery rule and the latent-disease exception to product repose often preserve claims for disease diagnosed long after exposure, but the 3-year period can begin once you knew or should have known the cause (§ 27-2-204, MCA). When a family member has died, wrongful-death and survival claims may be available (§ 27-1-513, MCA).
- Know where the case goes. A Helena exposure case may be filed in the First Judicial District Court at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse (§ 3-5-101(1), MCA). Because most manufacturers are out-of-state corporations, cases are often removed to the federal Helena Division at the Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse (D. Mont. L.R. 1.2).
Montana law that applies
In brief: a manufacturer of a dangerous product can be strictly liable, and in a strict-liability case it cannot defend with “state of the art” evidence of what it knew or could have known when it sold the product (Sternhagen v. Dow Co., 935 P.2d 1139 (Mont. 1997)). Negligence claims apply to anyone who failed to handle or control a substance with reasonable care (§ 27-1-701, MCA). Contamination of property can support strict liability and restoration damages (Sunburst School District No. 2 v. Texaco, 2007 MT 183), and property claims generally have a 2-year deadline (§ 27-2-207). The statewide Montana toxic exposure lawyer page covers causation, the discovery rule and workplace exposure in more depth.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Helena case?
Asbestos and toxic-exposure cases are won with science and with a complete exposure history, against defendants who count on the injured person running out of time or money. We have built those cases from the ground up. We are based in Great Falls, handle cases statewide, and our attorneys travel to Helena, and to clients’ homes when illness makes travel hard, for meetings, depositions, hearings and trial. We do not have a Helena office.
The Boland Aarab Way
- We handle asbestos exposure cases. We handle asbestos exposure cases, including claims arising from decades-old exposure, and we assemble the testing and scientific evidence they require.
- We know federal court. Our attorneys have handled more than 40 cases in the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, where most exposure cases against national manufacturers are heard.
- We try cases. Our firm has tried more than a dozen jury trials, in Cascade, Phillips, Meagher and Yellowstone Counties, and our attorneys have spent more than 4,000 hours in the courtroom.
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves.
We also handle wrongful death cases in Helena, mass tort cases in Helena and other Helena cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
I was diagnosed with mesothelioma decades after working in Helena buildings. Is it too late? Not necessarily. Montana’s discovery rule and the latent-disease exception to product repose often preserve these claims, but the clock can start once you know or should know the cause (§ 27-2-102(3); § 27-1-719(6)(b), MCA). Call promptly.
My Helena house has vermiculite insulation. What should I do? EPA advises assuming it contains asbestos and not disturbing it. Hire a qualified asbestos professional before any work, and keep records if you or family members were exposed.
Can I sue my employer for asbestos exposure at work? Generally not; workers’ compensation is usually the exclusive remedy against the employer (§ 39-71-411, MCA). Claims are typically against product manufacturers, suppliers, building owners and other contractors.
A contractor tore out old materials in my Helena building without precautions. Who regulates that? The Montana DEQ Asbestos Control Program, based in Helena, requires accredited inspections and permits for friable asbestos removal. Its records can help show what happened.
Can my family bring a claim if an asbestos disease caused a death? Yes. Wrongful-death and survival claims may be available, generally within 3 years, subject to the discovery rule (§§ 27-1-513, 27-2-204, MCA).
Talk to a Helena Toxic Exposure Lawyer
Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Our attorneys: Caitlin Boland Aarab · Samir F. Aarab
Sources: § 27-2-102, MCA · § 27-2-204 · § 27-2-207 · § 27-1-719 · § 27-1-701 · § 27-1-513 · § 39-71-411 · § 39-71-412, MCA · Sternhagen v. Dow Co. · Sunburst Sch. Dist. No. 2 v. Texaco · EPA, Libby Asbestos Site · EPA, vermiculite insulation · DEQ Asbestos Control Program
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
