Were you injured in a car accident in Rochester, NY that another driver caused?
At Buttafuoco & Associates, we secure compensation for people injured by negligent drivers across the Rochester area, including when the driver who caused the crash is uninsured or leaves the scene.
If another driver caused your crash, our Rochester, NY car accident lawyer can establish how the collision happened, document the full extent of your injuries, and pursue the compensation available under New York law. Fault in a car accident is a factual question, decided by the evidence of what each driver did in the seconds before impact. The attorneys at Buttafuoco & Associates gather that evidence early and identify every driver and policy that may owe you compensation, building the claim on proof rather than assumption. That work begins with understanding the cause of the crash.
Car Accident Lawyer Rochester, NY
Most serious collisions come down to a driver who did something the law required them not to do: followed too closely, misjudged a left turn, ran a light, drove too fast for the conditions, or looked away from the road at the wrong moment. Distracted driving is the leading contributing factor to motor vehicle crashes in New York State, according to the state’s Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, and the same behaviors account for most of the injury crashes on the roads and highways around Rochester and across Monroe County. Less experienced drivers are overrepresented in the most serious of these crashes. Establishing which of these failures caused your crash is the foundation of the claim. It is proven with the police crash report, statements from independent witnesses, photographs of the vehicles and the scene, and, where distraction is suspected, the other driver’s phone records.
Types of Car Accident Cases We Handle in Rochester
Buttafuoco & Associates represents people hurt in the full range of Rochester-area collisions, including:
- Rear-end collisions. These often result from following too closely or from a distracted driver who fails to stop in time. Liability is frequently clear, though the severity of the resulting neck or back injury is often still contested.
- Intersection and left-turn crashes. A driver who fails to yield the right of way or turns across oncoming traffic can cause a severe broadside impact. Proving who had the right of way usually depends on witness accounts and the physical evidence left at the scene.
- Head-on and wrong-way crashes. A driver who crosses the center line, often while impaired, distracted, or fatigued, can cause catastrophic injuries even at moderate speeds.
- Distracted and impaired driving crashes. When a driver was texting, using a phone, or driving under the influence, that conduct is central to establishing negligence and can be documented through police records, phone data, and chemical testing.
- Uninsured, underinsured, and hit-and-run crashes. When the driver who caused the crash cannot be identified or carries too little insurance, compensation may still be available through the uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy.
- Truck accidents. A collision with a commercial truck involves higher insurance limits and additional responsible parties. These claims proceed differently from a standard car accident and call for a prompt investigation of the carrier.
Why Choose Buttafuoco & Associates as Your Car Accident Lawyer in Rochester, NY?
Trial-Tested Preparation in Car Accident Cases
Mark T. Freeley has spent more than twenty years litigating the firm’s motor vehicle cases, has conducted close to a thousand depositions in accident matters, and prepares every case as though it will be tried, an approach that has produced hundreds of six- and seven-figure settlements. Daniel Buttafuoco founded the firm in 1981, has tried more than one hundred cases to verdict, and is board-certified in trial advocacy by a national board. That preparation matters in a car accident case, because the value assigned to a claim reflects how the firm behind it is known to prepare and, when necessary, try cases. Because recovery sometimes depends on more than one policy, our personal injury lawyer in Rochester, NY reviews every available source of coverage, including a client’s own underinsured-motorist protection.
Recoveries in New York Car Accident Cases
Over four decades, our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for people injured in motor vehicle collisions. Recent motor vehicle results include:
- $1,425,000 for a driver who was rear-ended at a red light, in a case where liability was decided before trial.
- $650,000 for a driver injured when another motorist crossed two lanes of traffic and failed to yield.
- $125,000 for a passenger injured by a driver who was operating the vehicle while impaired.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What Is Important to Understand About a Car Accident Case?
Liability, Damages, and the Compensation Available
New York law allows a driver injured by another’s negligence to recover for medical expenses, lost earnings, the cost of future care, and pain and suffering. Recovery depends first on liability, which means showing that another driver failed to use reasonable care and that the failure caused the collision. If you are found to share some responsibility for the crash, your recovery is reduced in proportion to your share of fault, but sharing fault does not bar a claim. When an injury requires ongoing treatment or limits the ability to work, the value of the claim depends on medical and economic evidence of those future losses, which is why the full extent of an injury should be documented before a claim is resolved. Valuing a claim is an individualized process that weighs the severity of the injury, the treatment it requires, and its effect on earning capacity. Where the driver who caused the crash was uninsured, cannot be located, or carried coverage too low to cover the loss, compensation may still be available through the uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own automobile policy.
Building the Proof of How the Crash Happened
The evidence that establishes fault is strongest when it is gathered promptly. New York’s crash-report requirement means most serious collisions generate an official police report, which records the vehicles, the road conditions, and often the officer’s account of what happened, and that report is an important starting point. Independent witnesses, photographs of the vehicles and their resting positions, and the damage patterns themselves all help reconstruct the moment of impact. Where a driver is suspected of texting or using a phone, cell phone data can show whether the device was in use when the crash occurred. Prompt medical evaluation matters as well, because it documents the connection between the crash and the injury before that connection can be questioned.
The Deadline to File a Car Accident Claim
In most car accident cases, New York allows three years to file a lawsuit after the crash. Waiting is rarely an advantage, because evidence degrades, vehicles are repaired, and witnesses become harder to locate. A claim litigated in the Rochester area is generally filed in the Monroe County Supreme Court, the trial court for the region. Most cases resolve by settlement, but preparing each one as though it will be tried is what positions it to resolve on fair terms.
What to Bring to Your Consultation
The first meeting is free. Bringing a few documents helps us assess the claim quickly: the police crash report or its report number, any photographs of the vehicles and the scene, the insurance information for every driver involved, and your medical records and bills to date. If you are unsure whether you have a claim, we will review what happened and tell you honestly whether the evidence supports one and what it may be worth.
Reach Out to Buttafuoco & Associates to Schedule a Consultation
After a car accident that was not your fault, our Rochester car accident lawyer can help you pursue compensation for the medical bills and lost income you did not plan for. The attorneys at Buttafuoco & Associates can determine how the crash happened, identify every source of compensation, and pursue the recovery you are owed. Contact us to arrange a free consultation and a candid assessment of your case.