The plaintiff must establish a "serious injury" under §§ 5102(d) and 5104(a) in order to recover for "non-economic loss."

The plaintiff was a passenger on the defendant's bus and sued to recover personal injury damages allegedly arising out a motor vehicle collision between the defendant's bus and a third party's vehicle. The plaintiff must establish a "serious injury" under §§ 5102(d) and 5104(a) in order to recover for "non-economic loss." The New York Supreme Court dismissed the plaintiff's claims of serious bodily injuries under the categories of a significant limitation and a permanent consequential limitation of functioning. The defendant's physicians did not offer any objective medical support for the Court to rebut the plaintiff's claims of injuries caused by the accident that prevented daily activities for 90 out the 180-day period after the accident. The court, therefore, denied the defendants' motion as to the category of an impairment preventing daily activities for 90 of the 180 days after the collision, finding they failed to demonstrate the absence of such injury or impairment. Therefore, the defendants failed to satisfy the initial burden that could have entitled them to summary judgment on the category of a serious injury.

Case Law Alert - 1st Qtr 2010