Missoula Workplace Injury Lawyers

Missoula Workplace Injury lawyer icon, Boland Aarab PLLP

Missoula, MontanaMissoula Workplace Injury

Missoula Workplace Injury Lawyers: Construction Accidents, Third-Party Claims and On-the-Job Injuries in Missoula County

Boland Aarab PLLP.

If you were hurt on the job in Missoula, workers’ compensation is usually your only claim against your own employer. But many serious workplace injuries also involve another company, such as a general contractor, an equipment maker or a negligent driver, and those companies can be sued for full damages. You can keep your comp benefits and bring that separate claim. Most such lawsuits are filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court.

Key Takeaways

  • Workers’ compensation is generally the exclusive remedy against a covered employer (§ 39-71-411, MCA).
  • You can keep comp benefits and sue a negligent third party (§ 39-71-412, MCA).
  • The comp insurer has a lien on a third-party recovery, with limits that protect the worker (§ 39-71-414, MCA).

Seriously hurt at work in Missoula County? Contact Boland Aarab PLLP for a free consultation at (406) 315-3737.

What kinds of work injuries happen in Missoula?

Missoula’s economy has shifted from mills to hospitals, the university, construction and services, and the injuries have shifted with it:

  • Construction. Missoula’s growth has meant new apartments, commercial buildings and road projects across the valley, and MDT’s Russell Street and West Broadway reconstruction is in design for construction later this decade (MDT). Construction sites involve many employers at once, which is exactly where third-party claims arise: a subcontractor’s worker hurt by another contractor’s crane, trench or scaffolding may have a claim against that contractor or the general contractor.
  • Road work zones. Flaggers and crews on I-90, Reserve Street and U.S. 93 are exposed to traffic. When a driver hits a road worker, the driver’s insurer is a third party.
  • Timber. Wood products powered Missoula’s economy for more than a century. In 2024, Roseburg permanently closed its Missoula particleboard plant, and Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake ended production (Roseburg; MTPR). Logging, hauling and forest-restoration work continue, and these jobs remain among the most dangerous in Montana. Equipment failures often point to a manufacturer or a maintenance company.
  • Health care. Providence St. Patrick Hospital and Community Medical Center are among the region’s largest employers. Nurses, aides and techs suffer lifting injuries and workplace violence, and some of those injuries involve third parties.
  • Wildland fire and outdoor work. Missoula is a center for wildland firefighting. Federal firefighters are covered by a federal compensation system rather than Montana workers’ comp, and private contract crews are covered by their employers’ insurance. In either case, a negligent vehicle driver, aircraft operator or equipment maker can be a third party.
  • Delivery and driving jobs. Workers who drive for a living on Missoula’s busy corridors can bring third-party claims against at-fault drivers while receiving comp.

Winter adds its own work hazards: ice on job sites, loading docks and parking lots, and cold-stress injuries for outdoor crews.

What happens after a workplace injury in Missoula?

  1. Report the injury to your employer promptly, in writing if possible. Montana comp has short notice deadlines.
  2. Get medical care and tell every provider it happened at work. In Missoula, serious injuries are treated at Providence St. Patrick Hospital, the region’s ACS Level 2 / State Regional Trauma Hospital, or Community Medical Center (DPHHS).
  3. Identify everyone on the site. Write down the other companies, the equipment involved and any witnesses. That list is where third-party claims come from.
  4. Preserve the equipment. Ask that any machine, tool, ladder or vehicle involved be kept as it was. Serious incidents may also be investigated by OSHA.
  5. The third-party lawsuit. A claim against a negligent contractor or manufacturer is filed in the Fourth Judicial District Court at the Missoula County Courthouse, 200 West Broadway, or, if the defendant is from out of state, it may be moved to the Missoula Division of the federal court at the Russell Smith Federal Courthouse (U.S. District Court, Missoula). Disputes over comp benefits themselves go through the separate workers’ comp system, not the district court.

Montana law that applies

  • Exclusive remedy: comp is generally your only claim against your employer (§ 39-71-411, MCA).
  • Intentional injury: an employer or co-worker who injures you with an act “specifically and actually intended” to injure can be sued, a high bar (§ 39-71-413, MCA).
  • Deadline for third-party suits: generally 3 years (§ 27-2-204, MCA).

For more, see our Montana workplace injury lawyer page.

Why hire a Great Falls firm for a Missoula case?

We are based in Great Falls and handle workplace injury and third-party cases statewide. Identifying the responsible companies, reading the contracts between them and preparing the case for trial is the same work in any Montana county. Our attorneys travel to Missoula for site inspections, depositions, hearings and trial.

The Boland Aarab Way

  • 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 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.
  • We protect verdicts. The Montana Supreme Court reinstated a $168,500 verdict we won in Voegel v. Salsbery, 2023 MT 137.
  • We are part of the trial bar. Both attorneys belong to AAJ and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association, and Samir Aarab is also a member of Public Justice.

We also handle Missoula railroad and FELA and Missoula spinal cord injury cases, and other Missoula personal injury claims.

Frequently Asked Questions

I was hurt on a Missoula construction site by another contractor’s equipment. Can I sue? Often, yes. Your own employer is usually protected by workers’ comp, but another contractor, the general contractor or an equipment maker can be a third party.

I’m a flagger who was hit by a car on I-90 near Missoula. What claims do I have? You can receive workers’ comp and also bring a claim against the at-fault driver. Your own underinsured motorist coverage may also apply.

Does Montana workers’ comp cover federal wildland firefighters in Missoula? No. Federal employees are covered by a separate federal compensation program. A negligent third party can still be sued in many cases.

Will I lose my comp benefits if I sue a third party? No. You can keep comp benefits and pursue the third-party claim. The comp insurer may have a lien on the recovery, subject to limits in Montana law.

Where is a Missoula third-party workplace injury lawsuit filed? Usually in the Fourth Judicial District Court at the Missoula County Courthouse. Claims against out-of-state companies may be moved to the federal Missoula Division.

Talk to a Missoula Workplace Injury 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.