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.

Car Accident Statistics in Rochester, NY

Driving is how most of the Rochester area gets to work, to school, and to everywhere else. This high volume of traffic across Monroe County means that serious collisions are a regular event rather than a rare one. The dense city street grid, the high-speed approaches on Interstates 490 and 590, and the winter weather that settles over the region each make some conditions and corridors more dangerous than others, and some roads carry more risk than the averages suggest. The numbers behind those crashes show both how common they are and how often the injuries are severe enough to change a life.

Traffic-related injuries are the leading cause of injury-related death in Monroe County, according to the New York State Department of Health.
On Monroe County roadways, alcohol-related and speed-related crashes carry the highest risk of traumatic brain injury, and crashes there generate substantial hospital and emergency-department costs every year.
Statewide, New York drivers are involved in well over 400,000 crashes in a typical year, and more than 120,000 people are injured, according to the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles.

Most of these crashes trace back to a decision behind the wheel rather than to chance, which is why establishing another driver’s negligence and preserving the evidence of it early are the first things that matter in a claim.

Injuries Commonly Caused by Rochester Car Accidents

The value of a car accident claim tracks the seriousness of the injury, and the injuries that follow a Rochester collision range from those that heal in weeks to those that never fully resolve.

Neck and back injuries. Whiplash, sprains, and disc injuries are common even in lower-speed crashes. Many begin as soft tissue injuries that seem minor at first and then worsen over the following days.
Spinal cord injuries. A high-force collision can damage the spinal cord and cause lasting loss of movement or sensation. These spinal cord injuries often require lifelong care and are among the most expensive to treat.
Traumatic brain injuries. A blow or violent jolt to the head can cause a concussion or a more serious injury. Because the symptoms of brain injuries are not always visible at the scene, a medical evaluation soon after the crash is important.
Fractures and orthopedic injuries. Broken bones, torn ligaments, and crush injuries frequently need surgery and months of rehabilitation before a person can return to work.
Catastrophic and permanent injuries. Amputations, severe burns, and permanent disabilities reshape a person’s life and earning ability. Claims involving catastrophic injuries call for careful proof of the cost of future care.

Rochester Car Accident Lawyer FAQs

How much does a Rochester car accident lawyer cost?

A car accident case is handled under a written contingency fee agreement, so the attorney’s fee is a defined share of what is recovered rather than an hourly bill. That agreement also sets out how the expenses of building the claim, such as obtaining medical records and retaining any experts, are treated, so the fee and the costs are both established before the case moves forward. Any question about those terms can be raised at the first consultation, which is provided at no charge.

How long does a car accident claim take in Rochester?

It depends on the severity of the injury and whether liability is disputed. A straightforward claim can resolve in months, while a serious-injury case can take longer, in part because the full cost of the injury should be known before the claim is settled. Cases that have to be filed as lawsuits and worked up through discovery take longer than those an insurer resolves early, and a claim should not be rushed to settlement before the injury has stabilized. Understanding the usual case timeline helps set realistic expectations from the start.

Should I accept the insurance company’s first offer?

An early offer should be evaluated, not accepted on the spot. The claims staff at insurance companies often extend one soon after a crash, while treatment is still underway and before it is clear whether the injury will meet the threshold required to recover for pain and suffering. Because a settlement closes the claim permanently, agreeing to a figure before the injury is fully documented can leave later medical costs and lost earning capacity uncompensated. The sounder course is to measure any offer against the complete medical picture rather than the first one available.

Does New York’s no-fault system affect my car accident claim?

Yes. New York is a no-fault state, so after a car accident your own insurer pays basic medical costs and a portion of lost earnings regardless of who caused the crash. Those basic benefits are capped, and once they are exhausted, recovering the rest of your medical costs, your full lost earnings, and any award for the harm itself depends on a claim against the driver who caused the crash. To reach that recovery, including for pain and suffering, the law requires that an injury meet a legal threshold, which is why documenting the injury fully matters so much.

What if my injuries did not appear until days after the crash?

That is common and does not defeat a claim. The adrenaline of a crash can mask pain, and some injuries develop over the following days. Seeing a doctor promptly protects your health and creates the record that connects the injury to the crash before an insurer can argue otherwise.

What if a family member was killed in a Rochester car crash?

When a crash causes a death, a wrongful-death claim may be brought on behalf of the family and the estate. The damages can include the family’s financial losses along with the medical and funeral expenses, and these claims follow their own rules and deadlines.

Do I need a lawyer, or can I deal with the insurer myself?

A minor collision that leaves no injury can often be resolved directly with the insurer. Once an injury is significant, responsibility for the crash is contested, or more than one insurance policy may apply, the assistance of a lawyer becomes the more prudent course, because those circumstances govern both the complexity of the claim and the compensation ultimately available. Counsel also allows the claim to be measured against the full extent of the injury rather than its appearance at the scene.

Important Resources for Rochester Car Accident Cases

What Are Important Local Resources for Rochester Car Accident Cases?

Several Monroe County organizations handle the immediate aftermath of a crash and the records a claim depends on.

Rochester Police Department, Accident Records (585) 428-7493. Handles crashes within the city and issues the accident reports that involved parties need.
Monroe County Sheriff, Central Records (585) 753-4178. Responds to crashes in the towns and suburbs outside the city and provides those crash reports.
Strong Memorial Hospital, Emergency Department (585) 275-4551. Home to the region’s only Level I trauma center, treating the most seriously injured crash patients in the Finger Lakes area.

What Are Important New York Legal Resources for Car Accident Cases?

The law that governs a car accident claim is public, and an injured driver can read it through official state sources.

The rule of negligence, and the way a claimant’s own share of fault is measured, is stated in New York’s negligence statute.
The categories of damages a court may award, from medical costs to lost earnings, are set out in the state’s damages statute.
New York’s no-fault law, and the threshold an injury must meet before a driver can sue for pain and suffering, is defined in the state’s insurance law.

About Buttafuoco & Associates

Buttafuoco & Associates is a national injury firm that represents people across New York, including the Rochester area, and its upstate motor vehicle cases are guided by its managing partner, Mark Freeley. As the firm’s managing attorney, he is responsible for its court and trial calendar and for mentoring the attorneys who handle its accident cases, and he is admitted in the New York state and federal courts along with New Jersey and Florida. The first consultation is free.

What Our Clients Say

★★★★★

“Mr. Buttafuoco helped my husband on his Worker’s Compensation case. We felt very comfortable with him and his office, and are truly grateful for his help and guidance. Would definitely recommend!!”

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Additional Resources for Rochester Car Accident Cases

Contact Buttafuoco & Associates

A car accident claim in Rochester is built on the physical proof of how the crash happened and on medical evidence of what the injury will cost over the years ahead. Buttafuoco & Associates gathers that proof, accounts for every policy that may apply, and holds each responsible insurer to what it owes. The first consultation is free, and if the case is worth less than the effort of a lawsuit, we will tell you that at the outset. Contact us today to have our Rochester car accident lawyer review how the crash happened, the coverage that applies, and what your claim may be worth.

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