Ontario County

Ontario County is part of the Rochester New York Statistical Area. Its county seat is Canandaigua. Major highways in Ontario County include I-90, I-490, U.S. Route 20, U.S. Route 20A, and New York State Route 5, among others. A moment's inattention or carelessness by another person on the road or elsewhere can result in serious injuries. After an accident that produces injuries or a worsening of an illness, you may face medical bills and the need to take time off from work. When the injuries are catastrophic, you may not be able to return to the same job. You can hold the person or entity responsible for the car accident, truck crash, slip and fall, or other accident accountable by filing a personal injury lawsuit. If you are hurt in an accident, the experienced Ontario County personal injury lawyers at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano may be able to help you recover damages.

Negligence by one or more people is the cause of many different kinds of accidents. When ordinary negligence must be proven, you will need to show that the defendant owed you a duty of care, the defendant breached the duty of care, and this caused your injuries and damages. A car accident, for example, may be caused by a wide range of deviations from the standard of care, including tailgating, aggressive driving, speeding, drunk driving, driving while fatigued, weaving through traffic, or failing to obey traffic signals and signs.

On the other hand, special laws apply to construction workers injured on the job as a result of a gravity-related accident. New York Labor Law Sections 240 and 241 are laws that were put into place to give recourse to construction workers hurt as a result of falling or of having an object fall on them on a construction site. Section 240 is a Scaffold Law that protects workers who are doing their jobs at a height. Among other things, they must have ladders, hoists, stays, braces, pulleys, and other safety equipment that is designed to prevent falls on a construction site. If you are injured in a construction accident, a personal injury attorney in Ontario County may be able to help you hold an owner or contractor liable for injuries arising out of your fall under Section 240. Comparative negligence is not a defense that the owner can use to defeat your claim unless you are 100% responsible for your own injuries.

When a doctor or another health care provider's negligence harms you, you may be able to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. In these cases, you can hold your health care provider liable if you are injured as a result of the health care provider's breach of the professional duty of care. For example, if your general practitioner fails to refer you for appropriate testing so that you can be diagnosed for cancer, and as a result your cancer worsens so that you suffer serious pain and become likely to die earlier, our Ontario County personal injury attorneys may be able to hold your general practitioner liable for the worsening of your medical condition.

If you are able to establish liability after an accident, you should be able to recover economic and noneconomic damages. These are compensatory damages, intended to compensate you for your losses and put you back into the position in which you would have been, but for another person or entity's negligence or wrongdoing. Economic damages may include medical bills, lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, and replacement services. Noneconomic damages are intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of activities, loss of earning capacity, and loss of consortium. Noneconomic damages can vary significantly from plaintiff to plaintiff, based on the severity of the injuries and how they affect the plaintiff as an individual.

If you have been harmed due to another party’s careless or wrongful conduct, our law firm may be able to help you recover damages from responsible parties. Call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form for a free appointment with the attorneys at DeFrancisco & Falgiatano.