Skip to content
MyClaimWorth
MT
★ Montana · workplace

Workplace settlements
in Montana.

By 9 min read

Montana comp pays 66 2/3 percent of wages, up to the state average weekly wage. A crane company worker checking damage after a crash on an icy road was run down by a second truck and won the right to a trial against its owner in 2025. A miner kept the lifetime knee and back coverage his employer had agreed to.

Facts that decide a workplace claim in Montana

Comp rateTemporary total disability pays 66 2/3 percent of wages, not more than the state’s average weekly wage at the time of injury, supported by objective medical findings.Mont. Code Ann. § 39-71-701
Third party suitsA worker hurt on the job can sue another company whose employee caused the harm; comparative fault is for the jury.Fahrnow v. E-5 Oil Services (Mont. 2025)
Settlement termsAn agreement to close claims for a lump sum plus lifetime medical coverage is an enforceable contract.Newlon v. Teck American (Mont. 2015)
★ band · US federal frame
Scheduled statutory benefits, no pain-and-suffering award
Workplace injury (workers compensation)
State workers-compensation schedules; value tracks the impairment rating, the wage rate and future medical, and most claims close by compromise-and-release rather than verdict.

The US band is the starting point. Montana's fault rule and any applicable cap then adjust the figure.

united states · sister site
Your workplace claim in Montana. See the number for your own case.

The range above is a starting point. FairSettlement gives you a free estimate for your own workplace case in about two minutes, no cost and no obligation.

Check my case
★ MT · reported workplace outcomes

What Montana courts have awarded.

Real Montana decisions and verdicts, each linked to the court record or official report.

  • Fahrnow v. E-5 Oil Services
    Montana Supreme Court · 2025
    Summary judgment reversed

    On November 8, 2018, on icy County Road 350 in Richland County, a truck slid into Tristin Fahrnow’s work pickup. As he walked back to move it, an E-5 hot oil truck skidded, struck his thigh and dragged him under for several feet. The trial court granted E-5 summary judgment; the Supreme Court reversed, finding a triable question on liability.

  • Newlon v. Teck American
    Montana Supreme Court · 2015
    Lifetime coverage upheld

    Nick Newlon mined for Teck’s predecessor from 1972 until the mine closed in 1993 and injured his left knee several times, with surgeries in the 1990s. He agreed to close several claims for a lump sum plus lifetime medical benefits for his knee and back. The court held the deal enforceable and Teck could not use the 60 month rule to cut off benefits.

★ MT · workplace · in practice

What changes the number here.

What actually moves a workplace settlement in Montana.

  1. 1

    Look for a third party when someone else’s truck or equipment hurt you at work.

  2. 2

    Get any claim closing agreement in writing, including lifetime medical terms.

  3. 3

    Temporary total disability needs objective medical findings, so keep test results.

★ MT · statute of limitations
3 years from date of injury

Mont. Code Ann. § 27-2-204

★ MT · fault rule
Modified comparative, 51% bar

Modified comparative, recovery barred at 51% claimant fault.

★ MT · caps

What caps recovery.

Statutory caps that may bear on a workplace settlement in Montana.

★ workplace · same region & fault regime

Compare to like jurisdictions.

How Montana's fault rule and limitation period compare to jurisdictions in the same US region and to those running the same fault rule for workplace claims.

JurisdictionFault ruleLimitationWorkplace page
Montana · you are hereModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injury—
NevadaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years for personal injury; 3 years for medical malpracticeNV · workplace →
OregonModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOR · workplace →
UtahModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeUT · workplace →
WashingtonPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryWA · workplace →
WyomingModified comparative, 51% bar4 years from date of injuryWY · workplace →
AlaskaPure comparative negligence2 years from date of injury or discoveryAK · workplace →
New HampshireModified comparative, 51% bar3 years from date of injuryNH · workplace →
New JerseyModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryNJ · workplace →
OhioModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOH · workplace →
OklahomaModified comparative, 51% bar2 years from date of injuryOK · workplace →
NebraskaModified comparative, 50% bar4 years for personal injury; 2 years for medical malpracticeNE · workplace →
New MexicoPure comparative negligence3 years from date of injuryNM · workplace →
★ MT · workplace · frequently asked

Common questions.

Each answer is independently coherent and references the relevant statute or authority document.

Sources

Checked 2026-09-30. Every figure on this page comes from one of these documents.

★ all of MT
Montana overview

Fault rule, statute, caps, and key facts for Montana as a whole.

★ federal frame
Workplace in United States

Workplace band structure and severity tiers at the US level.

★ all 15 countries
Workplace · everywhere

Cross-jurisdiction comparison of workplace bands.

★ editorial note

Figures on this page are starting points: the US band adjusted for Montana's statutory framework. They are not quotes for any specific case. For representation, consult an attorney admitted in Montana. See /methodology, /sources, and /disclaimer.