Missoula, MontanaMissoula Toxic Exposure
Missoula Toxic Exposure Lawyers: Asbestos, Mesothelioma, Asbestosis and Chemical Exposure Claims in Western Montana
Boland Aarab PLLP.
If asbestos or another toxic substance made you or a family member sick in western Montana, you may have a claim against the companies that made, sold, installed or failed to control it. Asbestos diseases such as mesothelioma and asbestosis can appear decades after exposure. Montana’s discovery rule can extend the filing deadline, but it has limits, so talk with a lawyer soon after a diagnosis.
Key Takeaways
- Signs of mesothelioma may not appear until 30 to 40 years after exposure (ATSDR).
- Libby, in Lincoln County, is within the federal court’s Missoula Division, and in 2009 EPA declared the first public health emergency in the history of the Superfund law there (EPA).
- The limitation period does not begin until self-concealing facts are discovered, or should have been (§ 27-2-102(3), MCA); most injury claims otherwise must be filed within 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA).
Diagnosed with an asbestos disease, or worried that an exposure made you sick? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.
Why is asbestos a western Montana problem?
Because western Montana is where EPA made its first-ever Superfund public health emergency declaration, and because asbestos is still inside many of the region’s older buildings.
Libby. Vermiculite was mined near Libby from the 1920s until 1990, and the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has reported that the ore was contaminated with amphibole asbestos linked to asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma (ATSDR summary report, 2008). EPA placed the Libby Asbestos Site on the Superfund National Priorities List in 2002 (EPA site profile), and on June 17, 2009 it declared a public health emergency for Libby and Troy, the first time it had made that determination under federal Superfund law. Lincoln County is one of the eight counties in the Missoula Division of the U.S. District Court, so federal asbestos cases from Libby are heard at the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse in Missoula (U.S. District Court, Missoula).
Vermiculite in homes. Libby vermiculite was sold nationally, including as attic and wall insulation. A home in Missoula or anywhere in western Montana with loose, pebble-like vermiculite insulation should be treated with caution and tested by an accredited inspector before anyone disturbs it.
Older buildings. Asbestos was used for decades in pipe and boiler insulation, floor tile, ceiling texture, roofing, siding and plaster. Missoula has many older homes, commercial blocks downtown and institutional buildings from the decades when asbestos use was common. The City of Missoula notes that every building must be inspected for asbestos by a Montana-accredited inspector before demolition or renovation, regardless of age or size (City of Missoula), and Montana DEQ requires permits and accredited workers for removal of friable asbestos (Montana DEQ Asbestos Control Program). When a contractor or owner skips those steps, workers and occupants can be exposed.
Trades and industry. Pipefitters, boilermakers, insulators, electricians, mechanics working on brakes and clutches, mill workers, railroad workers and people in construction and demolition may have been exposed at jobs anywhere in the state. Family members have also become sick from fibers carried home on work clothes.
What asbestos diseases do these claims involve?
ATSDR describes four main asbestos-related conditions (ATSDR, Health Effects of Asbestos):
- Mesothelioma, a rare cancer of the membrane lining the chest, abdomen or other organs.
- Asbestosis, scarring of the lungs that makes breathing progressively harder.
- Lung cancer, with risk greatly increased when asbestos exposure is combined with smoking.
- Pleural disease, thickening of the membrane around the lungs, sometimes with fluid.
Because of the long latency, many people diagnosed today were exposed in the 1970s, 1980s or earlier, and many first learn of the disease from a chest scan ordered for something else. Missoula is the medical center for much of western Montana, with Providence St. Patrick Hospital and Community Medical Center (DPHHS), so many patients from Libby, the Flathead and the Bitterroot are diagnosed and treated here.
What happens after an asbestos diagnosis in western Montana?
Write down your history. List every job, employer, work site and product you remember, the years, and the people you worked with. Include homes you lived in and remodeling projects. We reconstruct exposure from work histories, union and pension records, coworker testimony and product identification.
Keep your medical records, including pathology reports, imaging and any physician’s statement connecting the illness to asbestos. The date a doctor linked the disease to asbestos may matter to the deadline.
Identify every responsible party. Claims can run against manufacturers and distributors of asbestos products, owners of the sites where exposure happened, contractors who disturbed asbestos without proper controls, and trusts created in bankruptcy by former asbestos companies to pay present and future claims (11 U.S.C. § 524(g)).
Which court. A Missoula County case can be filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court at the Missoula County Courthouse, 200 West Broadway (Missoula County District Court). Claims against out-of-state manufacturers are often heard in the federal Missoula Division.
Other exposures. We also evaluate solvent, pesticide, silica, lead and carbon monoxide claims.
Montana law that applies
- Strict product liability for dangerous products, including inadequate warnings (§ 27-1-719, MCA). Montana bars “state of the art” evidence in strict-liability cases (Sternhagen v. Dow Co., 935 P.2d 1139 (Mont. 1997)).
- Latent disease exception. The product statute’s 10-year repose period has an exception for latent respiratory diseases and malignancies in claims against the manufacturer (§ 27-1-719(6)(b)).
- Duty to warn miners. In a suit by Libby miners, the Montana Supreme Court held that the State owed them a duty based on what its inspectors knew (Orr v. State, 2004 MT 354).
- Workplace exposure. A claim against a product maker or another company at the site is a third-party claim that can proceed alongside workers’ compensation. We handle the third-party claim, not the workers’ compensation claim.
For more, see our Montana toxic exposure lawyer page.
Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Missoula case?
We are based in Great Falls and handle toxic exposure cases statewide. Asbestos cases are built on decades-old records, medical science and product identification, not a street address. Our attorneys travel to Missoula, Libby and wherever the witnesses are for depositions, hearings and trial, and we come to clients who are too sick to travel.
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 handle asbestos exposure cases, including claims arising from decades-old exposure.
- You work with the lawyers. Caitlin Boland Aarab and Samir Aarab handle your case themselves.
We also handle Missoula wrongful death and Missoula mass tort cases, and other Missoula personal injury claims.
Frequently Asked Questions
I was just diagnosed with mesothelioma in Missoula. How long do I have to file? Generally 3 years, but when the clock starts can depend on when the disease and its cause were discovered. Talk to a lawyer promptly after diagnosis.
My family is from Libby. Where would an asbestos case be filed? It depends on the defendants. Federal cases from Lincoln County are heard in the Missoula Division; state cases may be filed in the county where a defendant resides or where the exposure happened.
I found vermiculite insulation in my Missoula attic. What should I do? Do not disturb it. Have it tested by a Montana-accredited asbestos inspector, and use accredited contractors if removal is needed.
Can I bring a claim if my exposure was at work decades ago? Often, yes. Claims against product manufacturers and other companies are third-party claims, and bankruptcy trusts may also pay claims for exposure to certain companies’ products.
Can a family member bring a claim after an asbestos death? Yes. The family may bring wrongful death and survival claims, generally within 3 years of the death.
Talk to a Missoula Toxic Exposure 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.
