Were you injured in an accident in Rochester, NY that left you with lasting back pain?
At Buttafuoco & Associates, we are back injury lawyers who pursue full recovery for injured clients and their families.
If you hurt your back in a crash or a fall in Rochester, you may be dealing with medical expenses and an adjuster who says a herniated disc or other condition is not from the accident. The pain does not stop when the paperwork starts.
At Buttafuoco & Associates, we have represented injured New Yorkers since 1981, and spinal injury claims have been part of that work from the first year. Our Rochester, NY back injury lawyer can review your imaging, identify who is responsible, and explain what your claim is worth. Contact us for a free case review.
Back Injury Lawyer Rochester, NY
A back injury lawyer in Rochester represents people whose spine was damaged by someone else’s negligence. That covers herniated and bulging discs, fractured vertebrae, sciatica, radiculopathy, and the sprains and strains that never fully heal. We tie the imaging to the accident, and we answer the defense argument that the damage was already there.
In the state’s most recent county tables, an average of 404 Monroe County residents a year were hospitalized after traffic crashes and another 5,280 were treated and released from emergency departments, according to NYSDOH injury data. Nationally, the back is the body part most often involved in work-related musculoskeletal injuries that keep employees off the job, per BLS injury data.
Types of Back Injury Cases We Handle in Rochester
A back injury is rarely the entire story. It usually comes from a crash, a fall, or a job site failure, and the liability questions come from that event. Our Rochester back injury attorneys handle both halves of the case: proving what went wrong, and proving what it did to your spine.
- Car accidents. A rear-end collision on I-490 or Lake Avenue compresses the lumbar spine, and herniated discs are a common result. We obtain the crash report, the vehicle data, and the imaging, and we handle the no-fault paperwork.
- Truck accidents. The force of a loaded tractor-trailer produces fractures and disc damage at several levels of the spine. Our attorneys move quickly to preserve the carrier’s driver logs and the truck’s electronic data.
- Motorcycle accidents. Riders absorb the full impact with their bodies, and thoracic and lumbar fractures are frequent. We also deal with the bias riders face from insurers and juries.
- Slip and fall injuries. A fall on untreated ice or a broken step often ends with a compression fracture or a herniation. We document the condition before it is repaired and identify who controlled the property.
- Construction accidents. Falls from ladders and scaffolds cause many of the most serious spinal injuries, and New York law gives injured workers rights beyond workers’ compensation. We pursue the owner and the contractor when they are responsible.
- Bus accident injuries. A sudden stop or collision on an RTS bus can throw standing passengers into poles and seat frames. Claims against a public authority carry shorter deadlines, and we act on them promptly.
- Herniated and bulging discs. The disc material presses on a nerve root, and the pain often radiates into the leg or arm. We work with your treating physicians to document the loss of range of motion.
- Sciatica and radiculopathy. Nerve compression from trauma produces burning pain, numbness, and weakness along the path of the nerve. These injuries are easy for an adjuster to dismiss and hard for a patient to live with.
- Spinal cord damage. Fractures and dislocations that injure the cord itself are catastrophic injuries with lifelong costs. We retain life-care planners and economists to prove those costs.
- Back sprains and strains. These soft tissue injuries do not show on an X-ray, so insurers treat them as minor. Some never resolve, and we build the medical record that proves it.
Why Choose Buttafuoco & Associates as My Back Injury Lawyer in Rochester, NY?
Four Decades of Spinal Injury Litigation
Dan Buttafuoco founded our firm in 1981, the year he graduated from Hofstra Law, where he now teaches as an adjunct professor of trial law. He has been a certified civil trial lawyer through the National Board of Trial Advocacy since 1989 and holds the third-highest recorded personal injury settlement in New York State history.
Mark T. Freeley runs the firm’s trial calendar and has conducted nearly 1,000 depositions in accident cases, most of them involving the kind of serious injury that a disc herniation or vertebral fracture represents. Both belong to the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
A back injury claim is won on medical proof. Our personal injury lawyer in Rochester, NY knows which questions to ask a spine surgeon and understands how strong medical documentation changes what a jury awards.
Results in Spinal Injury Cases
Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars for injured clients. Results involving the spine include the following:
- $1,300,000 for a worker whose fall from a scaffold caused spinal injuries
- $500,000 for a patient whose Hodgkin’s disease went undiagnosed until it damaged the spine
- $1,000,000 for a worker who fell from a plank into a ditch
Every case review with a Rochester back injury attorney is free. We take the time to explain where your case stands before you decide anything.
What Is Important to Understand About a Back Injury Case?
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Back Injury Cases
Liability depends on proving that another party owed you a duty of care, failed to meet it, and caused the injury. New York applies a pure comparative negligence rule under CPLR 1411, so you can still recover if you were partly at fault, with the award reduced by your share. Motor vehicle cases add one more step. Under Insurance Law 5102, you must show a “serious injury” as the statute defines it, such as a fracture or a significant limitation of use of a body function, before you can recover for pain and suffering outside the no-fault system.
Compensation in a back injury claim may include the following:
- Medical expenses, including surgery, injections, physical therapy, and future care
- Lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life
- Out-of-pocket costs such as home modifications or household help
What Are Important Aspects of a Back Injury Case?
The defense in almost every one of these cases is the same: degeneration. Insurers argue that your disc disease is age-related and that the accident changed nothing. Answering that argument is most of what a back injury attorney in Rochester, NY does.
- Prior medical records that show what your back looked like before the accident
- Imaging taken soon after the injury, and follow-up studies that show progression
- Consistent treatment, since gaps in care are used to argue that you recovered
- A clear account of what you can no longer do at work and at home
- Identifying every responsible party when multiple parties share fault
What Is the Back Injury Case Timeline?
Under CPLR 214, you generally have three years from the date of the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit in New York. If a city, county, or public authority is responsible, a notice of claim must be served within 90 days under General Municipal Law 50-e, and the lawsuit itself has a shorter deadline. A Rochester, NY back injury lawyer from our firm will calendar every one of those dates at the first meeting. A typical case follows this path:
- Free case review, investigation, and preservation of evidence
- Treatment continues while we gather records and medical opinions
- Claim presented to the insurer, or suit filed when the deadline requires it
- Discovery, including depositions and defense medical examinations
- Mediation or settlement talks, with trial if the offer is inadequate
How long a case takes to settle depends largely on when you reach maximum medical improvement. Settling before then means guessing at your future care, and we do not guess.
What Should You Bring to Your Back Injury Consultation?
Bring what you have. We can obtain the rest. The initial consultation with a Rochester back injury attorney moves faster when we can see the following:
- The police or incident report, and any photos from the scene
- Medical records, imaging reports, and discharge instructions
- Your auto, health, and disability insurance information
- Pay stubs or other proof of missed work
- Any letters or recorded statements from an insurance company
Reach Out to Buttafuoco & Associates to Schedule a Consultation
Back injury claims are built on early medical proof and a clear record of fault. Buttafuoco & Associates offers a free, confidential case review with a Rochester back injury lawyer who will listen to what happened and tell you where you stand. We keep clients informed at every stage of the case. Contact us today to schedule your consultation.