Heavy trucks present special risks on Montana highways. But the load carried by one semi involved in a mid-November truck accident on U.S. Highway 2 between Hinsdale and Saco presented a danger that was way beyond the usual. The truck was carrying 36,000 pounds of bombs – military ordnance bound for the Minot, N.D. Air Force base. The accident took…Read More
The State of Montana takes drunk driving very seriously. Under state law, drunk drivers are held criminally and civilly responsible for any injuries or deaths they cause in a car accident. In addition, Montana law provides that a bar or restaurant that serves alcohol to a person who is already visibly intoxicated can be held liable for damages in a…Read More
Authorities in Teton County, Montana intend to step up enforcement of stop sign laws at an intersection that has seen more than its share of serious accidents recently. The County Sheriff and County Attorney have spoken out recently about their frustration at drivers ignoring the stop sign that controls the intersection of U.S. Highway 89 and a secondary highway. The…Read More
When a Montana oil field worker is injured on the job, his or her first avenue of recovery is usually a workers’ compensation claim against his employer. If the negligence of a third party, other than the worker’s employer, contributed to the accident, the worker can also bring a civil lawsuit against that third party for damages. This appears to…Read More
Few would dispute that the Bakken oil boom has brought significant economic benefits to Montana and western North Dakota. But those benefits come with a price. In the Bakken oil region, an increase in highway and oil field accidents is putting a strain on local hospitals. A recent news article discussed the burden now being faced by rural hospitals in…Read More
A 22-year old Glasgow, Montana man is facing several felony charges arising out of a fatal car wreck that took place in May near Dewey. The man has been charged with vehicular homicide for driving under the influence and causing the death of one of his passengers in the car accident. He also faces two felony counts of negligent vehicular…Read More
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently released some statistics on teenage car accident deaths, and the news for Montana is discouraging. The IIHS ranked all 50 states in terms of teenage deaths in car accidents, and Montana is unfortunately in the top six for teenage death rates, a distinction the state shares with Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, West Virginia and…Read More
A head-on collision caused by a car going the wrong way on King Avenue in Billings sent two women to the hospital recently. The car accident happened on a weekday morning when a woman in an older model Lincoln Continental drove the wrong way in the eastbound lanes of the avenue, near 20th Street West. The drivers of two other…Read More
Montana viewers of the CBS TV show “The Good Wife” may already have heard that actress Kristin Chenoweth, who plays the part of a political reporter on the show, sustained a serious head injury last month while working on the set. This month Ms. Chenoweth released a statement to the press, stating that due to her injuries she is leaving…Read More
With our increasing dependence on personal technology, distracted driving is becoming a serious danger on the roads today. A recent distracted driver accident in Montana is an extreme example of a driver neglecting his responsibility to pay attention to the task of driving. The accident happened on Interstate 94 near Custer. According to authorities the driver, a 22-year-old Glendive man,…Read More