Were you seriously injured because of someone else’s negligence in Rochester, NY?
At Buttafuoco & Associates, we advocate for people across the Rochester area who have been seriously injured, whether in a crash, on a job site, in a hospital, or on someone else’s property, and pursue the recovery each claim allows.
If you have been seriously injured because someone else was careless, our Rochester, NY personal injury lawyer can establish who is responsible, document the full extent of your losses, and pursue the compensation the law provides. Personal injury is a broad area, but the same legal principle applies in every case: did another party fail to use reasonable care, and did that failure cause the harm. At Buttafuoco & Associates, our attorneys have handled the full range of these claims across New York since 1981, from medical errors to serious crashes. Understanding how a claim is built is the place to start.
Personal Injury Lawyer Rochester, NY
A personal injury claim is a civil case that seeks compensation when one party’s negligence causes another person harm. Monroe County injury data identify traffic crashes as the leading cause of injury-related death among county residents, but serious injuries in the Rochester area also come from falls, unsafe property, defective products, workplace accidents, and medical care that falls below accepted standards. Nationally, unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 1 and 44. Whatever the cause, a claim rests on the same foundation: proving that another party’s failure to act reasonably caused the injury. How that is proven differs sharply from one case to the next, since a missed cancer diagnosis and a highway collision call for very different evidence, but the underlying legal test does not change.
Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle in Rochester
Buttafuoco & Associates represents injured people across the Rochester area in cases that include:
- Car accidents. Collisions caused by distracted, impaired, or careless drivers, including claims that reach an uninsured or underinsured driver’s coverage.
- Truck accidents. Crashes involving commercial trucks, where the driver, the trucking company, and others may share responsibility for the injuries that result.
- Medical malpractice and birth injuries. Harm caused when a doctor, hospital, or other provider delivers care that falls below accepted standards, including injuries to a mother or child during delivery. These claims require a review of the medical records by qualified professionals to determine whether the standard of care was met.
- Slip and fall and premises liability. Injuries from dangerous property conditions, such as ice, wet floors, poor lighting, or hazards a property owner failed to address. Establishing that the owner knew or should have known about the danger is often the central issue.
- Construction and workplace injuries. Falls, struck-by accidents, and other harm on job sites, where more than one contractor or company may be responsible. Identifying every party whose choices contributed to the injury is a central part of these cases.
- Brain, spine, and catastrophic injuries. Serious injuries that require lifelong care and a claim built around their long-term medical and financial cost. Because the effects can be permanent, the claim must account for decades of treatment and lost earning ability.
- Wrongful death. Claims brought by the family of a person killed by another party’s negligence, which can include the loss of financial support and the value of the care the person provided.
Why Choose Buttafuoco & Associates as Your Personal Injury Lawyer in Rochester, NY?
Matching the Right Experience to Your Case
Our firm’s work spans every kind of serious injury, and each partner brings experience suited to a different part of that range. Dan Buttafuoco founded the firm in 1981, has handled more than one hundred trials, is certified in trial advocacy, and holds one of the highest recorded personal injury settlements in New York State. Mark T. Freeley has litigated the firm’s motor vehicle and construction cases for more than twenty years and has taken close to a thousand depositions. James McCarthy concentrates on medical malpractice, including birth injury and obstetrical cases. Together they give a Rochester client access to experience across the full range of injury law. It also means a single firm can evaluate a claim that crosses practice areas, such as a crash that raises a question of later medical treatment, without sending the file elsewhere.
Recoveries in a Range of Injury Cases
Across four decades, our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for injured New Yorkers in cases of many kinds. Recent results include:
- $880,000 for a patient whose colon cancer was not diagnosed in time.
- $500,000 for a construction worker struck by a falling steel beam.
- $433,003 for a driver who suffered herniated discs in a rear-end collision.
- $200,000 for a tenant injured in a fall on an icy walkway.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What Is Important to Understand About a Personal Injury Case?
Liability, Damages, and the Compensation Available
Every personal injury claim begins with liability: showing that another party owed a duty of care, failed to meet it, and caused the injury as a result. New York law then allows an injured person to recover for medical expenses, lost earnings, future care, and pain and suffering. A claim’s value depends on the severity of the injury and its effect on a person’s health and livelihood, and the full extent of an injury should be documented before any settlement is considered. Documenting damages means gathering medical records, bills, proof of lost income, and, in serious cases, an assessment of the care a person will need for years to come. If you are found partly at fault, your recovery is reduced by your share of responsibility but is not eliminated.
The Deadline to Bring a Claim
New York generally gives an injured person three years to act, though some claims carry much shorter deadlines. A case against a public entity, for example, can require a notice of claim within ninety days, and medical malpractice claims run on a different, shorter clock. Because physical evidence and witness memory fade, it is wise to speak with a lawyer well before any deadline approaches. A case in the Rochester area is generally filed in Monroe County’s civil court, which sits within the Seventh Judicial District. Filing in the correct court and meeting every deadline is a basic part of protecting a claim.
Building the Evidence a Claim Requires
Strong claims are built on evidence gathered early: the incident or crash report, photographs, medical records that connect the injury to the event, and statements from witnesses. Proving what happened, and what an injury will cost over a lifetime, often depends on testimony from physicians, engineers, or economists. Our attorneys work to preserve that proof before it is lost and to document the long-term consequences of a serious injury. Waiting allows records to disappear and memories to fade, so an early investigation often shapes what a claim is later able to prove.
What to Bring to Your Consultation
The first meeting is free, and what to bring is straightforward: any incident or police report, photographs, your medical records and bills, insurance information, and the contact details of any witnesses. That review costs nothing and carries no obligation. If the facts do not support a claim, we will tell you so directly rather than pursue a case that cannot succeed.
Reach Out to Buttafuoco & Associates for a Free Consultation
When a serious injury upends your life, the decisions you make in the first weeks can affect the outcome of a claim for years. Our Rochester personal injury lawyer can review what happened, explain your options, and pursue the compensation you are owed. The attorneys at Buttafuoco & Associates offer a free consultation and an honest assessment of your case, so contact us to get started.