Montana Burn Injury Lawyer: Your Rights After a Burn

Attorney Advertising.

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What to do after a burn in Montana

Among U.S. burn center admissions from 2020 to 2024, 46% of burns came from flame or flash, and 97.6% of patients survived (American Burn Association). Keep a record from day one.

Hold on to the camp stove, propane tank or heater involved, and do not let an insurer take it for “testing” without a written agreement. Photograph the scene, the burned clothing and your injuries, and write down who saw it happen. The State Bar of Montana runs a free lawyer referral service called Licensed Lawyer Montana (State Bar of Montana).

The deadline to file in Montana

Montana gives three years to bring a personal injury claim (MCA 27-2-204(1)). A 2025 amendment, Chapter 709, Laws of 2025, took effect October 1, 2026. It adds an exception for MCA 27-2-219 and keeps the three-year period.

The discovery rule here is limited (MCA 27-2-102). The clock waits for discovery only when the facts are by nature concealed or self-concealing, or when the defendant acted to prevent discovery. Otherwise, not knowing about your claim does not delay the start.

Claims against the State of Montana must first be presented in writing to the Department of Administration (MCA 2-9-301). The department has 120 days to grant or deny the claim, and silence counts as a denial. Presenting the claim pauses the limitations period for 120 days. Claims against a county, city or other political subdivision are presented to and filed with its clerk or secretary. The statute sets no separate short notice deadline for these claims.

How fault works in Montana

Montana follows modified comparative fault with a 51% bar (MCA 27-1-702). Your own negligence does not bar recovery if it was not greater than the combined negligence of the defendants. Your award is reduced by your share.

Take a hunter burned at a rented cabin near Bozeman when a propane heater with a bad valve flares, and the owner says the hunter should have smelled gas. If the jury puts 30% of the fault on the hunter, the award drops by 30%. At 51% or more, the hunter recovers nothing.

Damages and caps in Montana

Punitive damages require proof that the defendant was guilty of actual fraud or actual malice, with every element proved by clear and convincing evidence (MCA 27-1-221). A punitive claim cannot appear in the first complaint; it needs the court’s permission to be added. The award is capped at $10 million or 3% of the defendant’s net worth, whichever is less, except in class actions (MCA 27-1-220).

For medical malpractice, such as a burn during surgery, MCA 25-9-411 limits noneconomic damages per patient per incident. The limit in effect when the claim is first filed with the Montana Medical Legal Panel, or when suit is filed, is the one that applies (MCA 25-9-411).

Burns at work in Montana

Workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against the employer (MCA 39-71-411). MCA 39-71-413 allows a damages suit against the employer or a co-worker for an intentional injury, defined as an injury from an intentional and deliberate act specifically and actually intended to cause injury, with actual knowledge that injury is certain to occur. It must be proved by clear and convincing evidence (MCA 39-71-413).

Third-party claims stay open. Along with comp, you may sue anyone other than your employer or co-workers, such as a well-site contractor or the maker of a defective torch (MCA 39-71-412). Under MCA 39-71-414, the comp insurer has full subrogation as a first lien on that recovery unless you show damages greater than your comp benefits and the third-party recovery combined. An insurer that declines to share the cost of the suit waives 50% of its subrogation. If you have not sued within one year of the injury, the insurer may.

Burn centers in Montana

Montana has no burn center listed in the American Burn Association directory. North Dakota, one of the two neighboring states, has no ABA-verified center. The verified center in Idaho:

Source: American Burn Association, Find a Burn Center, directory checked November 2026.

The ABA lists this center as treating adults and children, and its verification entry reads “Adult.”

Who may be liable for a burn

Look at who was in charge of the danger. A lodge or cabin owner may answer for a gas heater or wiring left in bad shape. A contractor at a job site can be liable even when the employer is shielded by comp. The maker of a propane tank, camp stove or torch can answer for a defect. A utility may be at fault when a power line fails, and a restaurant for a drink served too hot.

How Beverly Law helps in Montana

Beverly Law, a California firm, has attorneys licensed in California and Washington. In Montana burn cases, it works with Montana-licensed attorneys through its referral network. The free case review is how you reach a burn injury attorney licensed in Montana, usually within one business day.

Related pages

• Burn injury lawyer · Burn injury law by state · Burn centers · Idaho burn injury law · North Dakota burn injury law

This page is general information about Montana law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change; a lawyer licensed in Montana can tell you how they apply to your case.

Common questions

Related pages

Burn Injury Lawyer

Important: Attorney Advertising. This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Beverly Law is a California firm whose attorneys are licensed in California and Washington; for injuries in other states it works with attorneys licensed there through its referral network. Last reviewed: November 6, 2026.