Bozeman Environmental Litigation Lawyer

As humans, we count on access to natural resources like air, soil, and water for our basic survival.

However, certain choices our society makes in pursuit of fossil fuels like natural gas or crude oil extraction can cause significant harm to our environment. The same goes for the use of toxic chemicals that contaminate our groundwater, leaving devastating results on our land and the collective health of communities. This destruction and individuals’ poor choices can also lead to other problems like fires.

This can, in turn, lead residents, farmers or ranchers, and business owners to rebuild, which can result in defective construction issues. These are just a few of many of the hot-button issues each Bozeman environmental litigation lawyer on our team works to combat, and we want to assist you if you’ve faced any of these situations yourself.

Holding Environmental Polluters Financially Liable

We take a lot of pride in sharing that our law firm, Western Justice Associates, PLLC, has succeeded in securing some of the largest settlements not only here in Bozeman or our state as a whole but in the entire western region.

And, since Montana law calls for victims in these types of cases to utilize the civil court system in Gallatin County and others to have juries decide their fate in terms of whether they warrant receiving a monetary award, we see the multi-million-dollar settlements we’ve been able to secure against big-name actors, including Exxon Mobile, Pennsylvania Power and Light as indicative of the strong cases our firm’s attorneys build.

They command these fair, just, and maximum settlement awards.

Taking on corporate polluters isn’t easy. Our Bozeman environmental pollution litigation lawyers only get one opportunity to put together and present cases that demonstrate the adverse impact certain choices have made on our clients.

Those cases must be carefully handled to achieve the best possible outcome in the case.

Environmental Matters Our Law Firm Has Experience With

Over the years, we’ve handled a wide range of claims involving environmental disputes, such as:

• Oil spills caused by fracking
• The aftermath of the destruction of gas pipelines
• Illegal dumping of hazardous waste (including from mines)
• Herbicide and pesticide use resulting in agricultural and other surface pollution issues
• Groundwater contamination that has contributed to the pollution of our state’s rivers and lakes
• Septic tank or sewage plant leaks
• The release of toxic, greenhouse gas-producing fumes into our air from manufacturing plants and refineries
• Solvent spills

Harm Industrial Pollution Can Have on Us and Our Land

We can’t emphasize enough just how widespread the impact of the different concerns addressed on this page can be. They not only damage properties but put the health and well-being of all living beings, plants, animals, and humans in peril. Environmental waste mishandling can:

• Limit our land’s ability to grow crops
• Mean that we’re unable to live in an area that is free from toxins in the air and water that can have harmful health effects

As for the latter, Montana Constitution Article II, Section 3 specifies that we all have a right to live in a “clean and healthful environment.” When situations arise that deprive us of this, the following health impacts are known to occur according to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and other environmental awareness organizations:

• Heart disease
• Kidney or liver failure
• Infertility
• Neurological impacts
• Respiratory diseases, including lung disease
• Congenital defects
• Skin conditions
• Blood disorders
• Thyroid issues
• Cancer

Many of the conditions listed above are chronic in nature, meaning once a patient has been diagnosed with one of them, they may continue affecting them for a lifetime. Not only might treating these illnesses or impairments be costly and time-intensive, but it affects quality of life as well.

Fortunately, Montana law allows victims to hold responsible parties financially liable in situations like these. A Bozeman environmental litigation lawyer can help you do just that.

How We Help Victims of Those Who Violated Environmental Laws

As in almost any civil matter, it’s necessary for the victims, also known as plaintiffs, to show where negligence occurred and, thus, where liability lies.

This is a big undertaking because it requires us not only to compile evidence but also carefully analyze it and connect the dots. This is extremely critical to achieving a successful outcome in cases like these.

So, how do we show how significantly impactful others’ negligent actions are? We do so by conducting thorough investigations, which may involve:

• Researching and retrieving records showing a property’s use and ownership
• Requesting business ownership information
• Securing medical records showing the onset of a contamination-related illness or injury
• Taking soil or water samples to document the extent of the contamination
• Interviewing residents and workers in a specific area (taking witness accounts)

Our extensive experience practicing in this area of the law, along with our connection to medical professionals, remediation experts, and others who understand the implications of these oversights, provides us with unique insight into how to piece together the evidence we uncover.

This allows us to demand verdicts and, consequently, just settlement amounts in our clients’ favor whether we settle these cases out-of-court or do so by going to trial.

So, if you’re looking for a legal representative who will be thorough, communicative, attentive, and aggressive from start to finish, you’ve found your partner in Western Justice Associates, PLLC.

Contact our firm to speak with a Bozeman environmental litigation lawyer who can carefully assess your claim of personal injury or property damage and advise you of your rights and legal options during a complimentary initial consultation.