Buffalo Child Injury Lawyers

Holding Negligent Parties Accountable For Child Injuries in Erie County

Swimming pool drownings, car crashes, and other trauma injuries are one of the leading causes of death for children under 18. Nothing can possibly fill the financial and emotional void the sudden death of a child creates.  A serious child injury can quickly lead to financial hardship when one of the parents must stop working to care for the child and medical bills start adding up.

Following a serious injury, families must depend on a Buffalo child injury lawyer to speak for them. At the Feroleto Law Firm, we know that effectively standing up for children’s legal and financial rights in court begins with a thorough case evaluation and diligent evidence collection. Only a claim built on a strong foundation withstands the wind and rain that are an inevitable part of legal action. Throughout the entire process, our professional team of personal injury attorneys communicate with you, so you are never in the dark.

Why Choose Us

We understand what you are going through and we fight for you to help you through this difficult time.  Dedication is one of the best reasons to choose the Feroleto Law Firm. When children are injured or killed, their caregivers should reach out to a Buffalo child injury lawyer instead of a general practice lawyer.  We have handled many of these cases and have the experience to maximize your claim.

Our team also has almost forty years of legal experience in Western New York. Since we know all court rules, both written and unwritten ones, your valuable claim is never a training tool. Furthermore, over the decades, we’ve learned things they do not teach in school, like how to act like a lawyer and not just think like a lawyer.

From our conveniently located Buffalo office, we serve victims throughout Upstate New York in places like Rochester, Batavia, Syracuse and Buffalo.

Moreover, when you partner with us, John Feroleto and his team of experienced lawyers assume primary responsibility for all the work done in your case. We don’t pass off your case to less-experienced associates or non-lawyer paralegals.

Our results speak for themselves. We’re confident that our proven methods will enable us to obtain results that exceed client expectations in your case as well.

Building a Foundation

Compensation for serious injuries is available if a Buffalo child injury lawyer proves negligence, or a lack of care, by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Therefore, a successful case begins with a good case evaluation. In New York, a negligence case has four elements:

• Duty: Most drivers, property owners, and other individuals have a duty of reasonable care in New York. For example, drivers and property owners must avoid actions that are likely to cause harm to others.
• Breach: Aggressive driving, such as speeding, and impaired driving, such as driving while fatigued, and other driver errors are the most common breaches of duty in car crash cases. In swimming pool drowning, dog bite, and other premises liability claims, most owners breach their duty of care when they know, or should know about an injury hazard and don’t promptly remove it.
• Cause: A Buffalo child injury lawyer must prove there’s a connection between the breach of duty and the damages. Bad weather often contributes to car wrecks, but driver negligence usually causes them.
• Damages: Normally, a victim must sustain a physical injury to obtain compensation. An injury, such as a broken bone, may be easy to understand but we often have clients with complex injuries with a variety of symptoms such as a traumatic brain injury.  We understand all types of serious injuries and know how to explain how those injuries can impact someone for the rest of their life.

We should briefly touch on the emotional issues in a child injury case. Frequently, a child victim has a close relationship with a negligent driver, property owner, or other tortfeasor (negligent actor). As a result, some caregivers don’t want to blame the tortfeasor for the “accident” and the tortfeasors insurance company wants to minimize what they will pay.

Dog bites, car crashes, and other such incidents aren’t malicious, but they aren’t “accidents” either. They are mistakes. In a perfect world, a Buffalo child injury lawyer wouldn’t have to force a tortfeasor’s insurance company to accept responsibility for a mistake. But we don’t live in a perfect world.

Evidence in a negligence case usually includes medical bills, witness statements, and the police accident report. We start investigating an injury on day one to make sure we find all the evidence we need to prove our case.

We often partner with the best experts in the country to obtain maximum compensation in these cases. For example, we may hire a doctor to testify about the need for future medical expenses or an accident reconstructionist to show a jury exactly how a crash happened.

Our team evaluates a case, collects evidence, and fronts litigation costs without charging victims a nickel. Instead, we are paid on a contingency basis. That means, we only get paid if we win your case.  If we don’t win, you don’t owe us compensation.

Withstanding the Wind and Rain

Insurance company lawyers don’t care about what’s right or fair. They only care about their own profits, so they’re willing to do whatever it takes to reduce or deny compensation.

Many insurance company lawyers file procedural motions and try to convince a judge to throw a case out of court. A Buffalo child injury lawyer who knows how to handle these serious child injury cases will know exactly what to do.  We’ve seen these tactics before and we know how to handle them.

The comparative fault defense, in one form or another, is probably the most common legal defense in an injury claim. An insurance company lawyer might argue that another driver’s recklessness caused a crash, a victim ignored a “Swim at Your Own Risk” sign, or a victim provoked a dog into an attack.

Once again, preparation is key. If, according to the evidence, the tortfeasor was clearly responsible for the injury, this defense falls flat. At best, this defense usually only reduces damages. New York is a pure comparative fault state which means each person is responsible or their share of fault – no matter how small.

FAQs

As mentioned, communicating with clients and answering their questions about their case is one of our core values at the Feroleto Law Firm. These are some of the questions we are frequently asked:

What are the 3 most common childhood injuries?

Falls, struck-by injuries, and motor vehicle collisions are the three most common childhood injuries in New York.

Children notoriously run instead of walk, so if they stumble, they usually fall — and they may fall hard. Playground falls are common as well. Many older playgrounds are built on grass or even dirt; a fall from the monkey bars could cause a serious injury. Strangulations can also happen at a playground, when a young child gets their hoodie ties entangled in playground equipment.

Children also regularly throw rocks and baseballs. These objects often hit other children. A child might run into the wall or be hurt by falling objects or defective toys. If the injury was sports-related, the case is quite complex.

Aggressive driving, such as speeding, and impaired driving, such as driving while fatigued, cause most of the vehicle collisions in Erie County, adding to the total of child injuries.

What should I look for in a Buffalo child injury lawyer?

Only an experienced, accessible, and dedicated Buffalo child injury lawyer can obtain maximum compensation in a negligence case.

Law school teaches students to think like lawyers. Only experience teaches them to act like lawyers. Your lawyer should be accessible. Your lawyer should be available to meet or speak with you on short notice, and your lawyer should do most of the work in your case. Finally, only an attorney who’s dedicated to upholding the rights of injury victims is ready, willing, and able to go to the mat for you.

How much money am I entitled to?

A claim’s value varies as there are many considerations.  Depending on the case, compensation can be obtained for pain & suffering, loss of use of body parts, future lost earnings.  There are many other factors to consider. Call us today to discuss you’re your case is worth.

Why is my lawyer taking so long to settle my case?

If a case settles too quickly, the settlement money might not cover all future medical expenses. Many insurance companies refuse to pay the full value of a case until they see you are ready to go to trial with the best experts.  It also takes time, sometimes years, to get all of the best evidence to support your case.  Sometimes the “smoking gun” evidence that the defense tries to hide is turned over relatively late in the process. So, if a case settles too early, the best evidence, and therefore maximum compensation, is usually unavailable.

Your family’s road to full recovery from a serious or fatal injury begins with a free consultation with an experienced Buffalo child injury lawyer at Feroleto Law, Buffalo NY Attorneys.

Call us today at 716-854-0700. Attorneys can connect victims with doctors, even if they have no money or insurance.

Attorney John Feroleto

Attorney John Feroleto understands the value of hard work. He is known in the community and by his peers for his willingness to work and go the extra mile. Other lawyers often ask John to handle their trial matters to maximize clients’ recovery. Trial lawyers know who the best trial lawyers are. He was also named Trial Attorney of the Year in 2012 by the Western New York Affiliate of New York State Trial Lawyers Association. [ Attorney Bio ]