Montana Injury Claim Guide
What happens after you are hurt in Montana, what your options are, and how to decide whether you need a lawyer. Plain language, with the statute cited for every rule.
Written by
Misty Gaubatz, Partner, A&M Law
Licensed Montana attorney and co-founder of A&M Law. Over two decades in the practice of law focusing on family law, criminal defense, and DUI defense, with federal and state court experience and a Certificate in Mediation.
If you were just hurt, start with your health and the paperwork that proves what happened: medical records, the crash report, photos, and the names of witnesses. Then find out which deadline applies to you. In most Montana injury cases the lawsuit deadline is 3 years (MCA § 27-2-204), but some claims, such as one against a city, county, or the State, have an extra step first.
After that, the questions change. People look up injury law at three different moments: right after they are hurt, when they are weighing their options with an insurer, and when they are deciding whether to hire a lawyer and which one. This guide is organized around those three moments. Pick the one that matches where you are.
Ready to decide? Go straight to Decide, or call 406-830-3060 and tell us what happened.
I Just Got Hurt. What Happens Now?
The first days after a crash, the deadlines that start running, and what Montana's insurance rules mean for you.
What to Do After a Car Accident
The scene, the same-day doctor visit, and what to say (and not say) to the other insurer.
How Long You Have to File
Montana's three-year injury deadline, the shorter ones, and why waiting costs you anyway.
What Montana's Minimum Car Insurance Covers
The $25,000, $50,000, and $20,000 limits, what they pay, and what happens when an injury costs more.
You Feel Fine After the Crash. What Now?
Why symptoms can show up days later, and how to protect a claim you may not know you have.
How Gaps in Treatment Hurt a Claim
The missed appointments an adjuster looks for first, and how to explain the ones you had.
Struck in a Crosswalk: Who Is at Fault?
The pedestrian right-of-way rule, and the half of it insurers argue from.
Hit by an Uber or Lyft: Whose Insurance Pays?
Which policy applies depends on what the driver's app was doing at the time.
Hurt by a Drunk Driver
The criminal case is not your case. Why restitution is not compensation.
What Are My Options?
Settling or suing, what moves the value of a claim, and which insurance or claim process fits what happened to you.
Settle or File a Lawsuit?
What each path involves, what a release ends, and why filing suit is not the same as going to trial.
What Affects the Value of a Claim
Treatment, your share of fault, insurance limits, proof, and liens. The factors, with no formulas.
Workers' Comp or a Third-Party Claim?
Why you usually cannot sue your employer, and when you can claim against someone else.
Uninsured or Underinsured Driver
When the other driver had no insurance or not enough, the coverage that matters may be your own.
Claims Against the Government
A written claim comes first, a 120-day rule applies to the State, and damages are capped.
Who Pays Medical Bills During a Claim
Med pay, health insurance, Medicaid, workers' comp, and the liens that get repaid at the end.
How a Car Accident Settlement Works
How a settlement actually runs, from the first adjuster call to the release.
How Comparative Negligence Reduces a Settlement
Partly at fault is not the same as barred. How Montana splits the blame.
Writing a Demand Letter to an Adjuster
What belongs in a demand, what quietly weakens it, and why timing matters more than tone.
How Montana's Med Pay Coverage Works
Optional coverage that pays medical bills regardless of fault, and why so many people never use it.
Do I Need a Lawyer, and Which One?
When a lawyer is worth it and when it is not, how injury lawyers charge, and how to choose and prepare for a first meeting.
Do I Need a Lawyer?
When a lawyer is worth it, when it is not, and where to get help with a small claim on your own.
When to Hire an Injury Lawyer
The deadlines that make early advice matter, and the signs a claim has outgrown handling it yourself.
What an Injury Lawyer Actually Does
Stage by stage, from evidence and coverage to the demand and a lawsuit, and the decisions that stay yours.
How Injury Lawyers Charge
Contingent fees, case costs, and what Montana requires a signed fee agreement to say.
How to Choose an Injury Lawyer
What to compare, how to read lawyer ads under Montana's rules, and how to check a license.
Questions to Ask an Injury Lawyer
Fees, costs if you lose, who does the work, referrals, updates, and who decides whether to settle.
What to Bring to a Consultation
The reports, letters, medical and pay records, and policy pages that let a lawyer give real answers.
When You Are Ready
These pages describe the injury claims we handle, and what our clients say about working with us. To talk about your claim, call 406-830-3060 or send us a message.
The Numbers in a Montana Injury Claim
These figures come straight from the Montana Code Annotated. Most of an injury claim has no fixed timetable or price; these are the points that do.
| Number | What it governs | MCA |
|---|---|---|
| 3 years | The general time limit to file a lawsuit for a personal injury in Montana. | § 27-2-204(1) |
| 3 or 10 years | The time limit for a wrongful death action: 3 years, or 10 years if the death resulted from a homicide. | § 27-2-204(2) |
| 2 years | The time limit for an action for injury to real or personal property, such as damage to your car. | § 27-2-207 |
| $25,000 / $50,000 / $20,000 | Montana's minimum liability limits: bodily injury to one person, to two or more people, and property of others, in any one accident. | § 61-6-103(1) |
| 120 days | How long the Department of Administration has to decide a written claim against the State. No decision counts as a denial, and the filing deadline is tolled for those 120 days. | § 2-9-301(2) |
| $750,000 / $1.5 million | The most a Montana government entity is liable for in a tort action: per claim and per occurrence. | § 2-9-108(1) |
| 30 days | The time to give your employer or its insurer notice of a work injury for a workers' compensation claim. | § 39-71-603(1) |
| $7,000 | The most a small claims court can hear, not counting costs. | § 25-35-502(1) |
This guide explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your situation.
Montana Injury Claim Guide, Common Questions
What should I do first after being hurt in an accident in Montana?
How long do I have to file an injury claim in Montana?
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
Do I need a lawyer for an injury claim?
How do injury lawyers get paid?
Talk to Us About Your Claim
Tell us what happened and we will tell you honestly what we think your options are. Call 406-830-3060 for a confidential consultation.