Billings, MT Personal Injury Lawyer

Montana's Personal Injury Attorneys

An unexpected injury can turn your world upside down in an instant. One moment you are driving down King Avenue West, commuting on I-90, or even just taking a walk near the Yellowstone River, and the next you are facing medical bills, time off work, and uncertainty about the future. 

If someone else’s careless actions caused your harm, you should not have to carry this burden alone. A dedicated Billings personal injury lawyer can stand with you, handle the legal details, and fight for resources to help you heal. We invite you to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation to learn about your rights and see how the team at Rimrock Law can help you move forward.

Why Choose Rimrock Law for Your Billings Personal Injury Claim?

When you are hurt and feeling vulnerable, choosing a legal advocate is a significant decision. You need a team that not only understands Montana law but also understands what you are going through. At Rimrock Law, we see our clients as people, not case files. We know the challenges you face because we have guided hundreds of people across Montana through these same difficult situations. Our approach is built on a foundation of trust, communication, and a shared goal: securing the best possible outcome for you and your family.

We believe our commitment to clients sets us apart. When you work with our firm, you get:

• A Team Rooted in Montana: We are not just lawyers who practice in Montana; we are part of the community. We understand the local courts, the insurance company tactics common in our state, and how an injury can impact your life here in Billings, from your job to your ability to enjoy the outdoors.
• A Collaborative Approach: You benefit from the combined experience of our entire legal team. We work together on our cases, exploring every angle and strategy to build a strong claim on your behalf.
• A Focus on Your Recovery: Our mission is to handle the legal fight so you can focus on what truly matters—healing. We manage the paperwork, the phone calls, and the negotiations, allowing you to put your energy into getting better.

By choosing us, you are choosing advocates who will listen to your story, answer your questions, and work tirelessly to help you put the pieces back together.

What is a Personal Injury Claim?

A personal injury claim is a formal way to seek financial compensation when you have been hurt because of someone else's negligence or intentional actions. In legal terms, this is often called a "tort" claim. A tort is simply a wrongful act that causes harm to another person, creating a legal liability for the person who committed the act.

The goal of a personal injury claim is to hold the responsible party accountable and recover damages, which is the legal term for the compensation you receive for your losses. This process helps you get the financial resources needed to cover medical treatments, lost income, and other hardships caused by the injury.

Types of Personal Injury Cases Our Billings Personal Injury Attorneys Handle

While an injury can happen in countless ways, many claims arise from similar situations. Our team has significant experience helping people in Billings and across Montana who have been harmed in a variety of incidents.

• Car Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Workers’ Compensation
• Dog Bites
• Wrongful Death

Each of these situations requires a unique approach, and our team is prepared to build a case tailored to the specific details of what happened to you.

How Our Lawyers Prove Negligence in a Billings, MT Personal Injury Case

Most personal injury cases are built on the legal concept of negligence. In simple terms, negligence means that someone had a responsibility to act with reasonable care, but they failed to do so, and their failure caused you to get hurt.

It is not about proving that the person meant to cause harm, only that they were careless and their carelessness led to your injuries. For example, every driver on the streets of Billings has a duty to obey traffic laws. If a driver runs a red light and hits your car, they have breached that duty.

To build a successful personal injury claim in Montana, our lawyers must establish four key elements to prove negligence.

1. Duty of Care: First, we must show that the person or entity who caused your injury owed you a legal duty of care. This means they had a responsibility to act in a way that would not cause foreseeable harm to others.
2. Breach of Duty: Second, we have to prove that the person breached, or violated, that duty. This could be through a specific action, like speeding, or a failure to act, like a property owner not cleaning up a spill.
3. Causation: Third, we must connect the breach of duty directly to your injuries. It is not enough that the person was careless; their carelessness must be the actual cause of the harm you suffered.
4. Damages: Finally, we must demonstrate that you suffered actual losses, or damages, as a result of the injury. This includes measurable costs like medical bills and lost income, as well as non-economic harm like pain and suffering.

Successfully proving these four elements is the foundation of holding the at-fault party accountable for the consequences of their actions.

Should I Accept the First Offer from the Insurance Company?

After an accident, you will likely hear from the at-fault party's insurance company very quickly. They may sound friendly and concerned, and they might even make a quick offer to settle your claim. While it can be tempting to accept this money and try to move on, the first offer is almost always far less than what your claim is truly worth. Insurance adjusters are trained to protect their company's bottom line, which means settling claims for as little money as possible.

Accepting a quick settlement can be a costly mistake for several important reasons. The initial offer rarely accounts for the full scope of your losses, especially those that may not be obvious right away.

• Future Medical Needs: Many injuries require ongoing treatment, physical therapy, or even future surgeries. A first offer likely will not include compensation for the cost of this long-term care.
• Total Lost Income: You might be out of work for longer than you first expect. The full impact on your earning capacity, especially if you have a permanent disability, is something a quick offer fails to consider.
• Pain and Suffering: The physical pain, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life you experience are real damages. These are often the largest components of a personal injury claim, and they are not something an initial lowball offer properly values.

Once you accept a settlement and sign a release, you give up your right to ask for any more compensation for that injury, even if your condition worsens. It is important to understand the full, long-term value of your claim before making any decisions.

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This is precisely why speaking with a personal injury attorney before accepting any offer is so critical. A lawyer can thoroughly evaluate all of your current and future damages to determine what fair compensation looks like for you. They will then handle all communications with the insurance company, protecting you from settling for less than your claim may be worth and allowing you to focus on your recovery.

Compensation Available to Personal Injury Victims in Billings

When you are injured by someone else’s negligence, Montana law allows you to seek compensation for a wide range of losses. This compensation, called "damages," is intended to help make you whole again from a financial perspective. It covers both the tangible bills you can add up and the intangible ways the injury has affected your life. In a personal injury claim, you may be able to recover funds for different types of damages.

The primary categories of compensation are economic and non-economic damages.

• Economic Damages: These are the specific, calculable financial losses you have incurred because of the accident. They include things like past and future medical expenses, lost wages and income, and damage to your property, such as your car.
• Non-Economic Damages: These damages compensate you for the non-financial, personal losses that are much harder to put a price tag on. This can include pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life, such as being unable to hike the Rimrocks or go fishing.
• Punitive Damages: In rare cases where the at-fault party acted with actual malice or gross disregard for the safety of others, a court may award punitive damages. These are not meant to compensate the victim but to punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior in the future.

Our team works to carefully document all of your losses to build a comprehensive demand for the full and fair compensation you are owed.

Do I Still Have a Case if I’m Partly to Blame for My Accident Injuries?

This is a very common and important question. Many people worry that if they were even slightly at fault for an accident, they cannot seek compensation. In Montana, this is not necessarily true. Montana follows a legal rule called "modified comparative negligence." This rule is established in the Montana Code Annotated § 27-1-702. This law allows you to recover damages as long as your share of the fault is not greater than the fault of the other party or parties involved.

Here is how it works in practice. A court will determine the total amount of your damages and then assign a percentage of fault to each person involved in the accident. Your total compensation award is then reduced by your percentage of fault.

For example, if you were awarded $100,000 in damages but found to be 20% at fault for the accident, your final recovery would be reduced by 20%, leaving you with $80,000. However, if you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you would be barred from recovering any compensation at all.

Insurance companies often try to shift as much blame as possible onto the injured person to reduce or deny their claim. An experienced lawyer can protect you from unfair accusations of fault and fight to show what really happened.

FAQ for Billings Personal Injury Lawyer

Here are answers to some common questions we hear from people who are considering a personal injury claim in Montana.

You Can Trust the Experienced Billings Personal Injury Lawyers at Rimrock Law

Dealing with a serious accident injury can feel overpowering and isolating. The team at Rimrock Law is here to lift the legal burden from your shoulders so you can pour your energy into healing and rebuilding your life. We believe in what we do, and for us, it's personal. We are dedicated to providing the strong, compassionate, and effective advocacy you need to face the future with confidence.

If you have been injured because of someone else's actions, let us help you understand your options. Contact the experienced Montana personal injury lawyers at Rimrock Law today at (406) 606-1650 or through our online form.