Serious Injury 2008

What is a serious injury under the law? www.foleygriffin.com

We often struggle with the question as to whether our clients have suffered a "serious physical injury" under the law. The answer to the questions is a mix of legal and medical principles. The law sets forth nine (9) categories of "serious physical injury." If a client meets this threshold of "physical injury" the claim will survive. This issue is addressed on a daily basis. Recently, the second department upheld the plaintiff's claim in Altreche v. Gilmar Masonary Corp. The Court in Altreche found that the plaintiff did in fact suffer a "serious physical injury" under Insurance Law section 5102(d). The Court stated: "The opinion of the plaintiff's treating physician was based both on his contemporaneous and his most recent examinations of the plaintiff, as well as upon his review of, inter alia, the plaintiff's cervical and lumbar magnetic resonance imaging reports, which showed, among other things, disc bulges at C2 through C5 and a disc herniation at L5-S1. He opined that the plaintiff's spinal injuries and range of motion limitations observed were permanent, and were causally related to the subject accident." www.foleygriffin.com