In the case of K. v. C, decided on February 11, 2025, the Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the decision of a Bronx County Supreme Court judge who granted summary judgment in the defendants’ favor, and dismissed the personal-injury case, after finding that K. did not meet the “serious injury” threshold under the state’s Insurance Law § 5102(d).
The defendants successfully demonstrated that K’s injuries were pre-existing and degenerative, rather than caused by the December 2016 collision. The AD1 noted that the K’s own medical records showed normal or near-normal range of motion shortly after the accident, and the limitations observed by a consulting orthopedic surgeon some six years later were “too remote” to be causally linked to the incident.
As a result, the court “unanimously affirmed” the complaint’s dismissal and left the outcome undisturbed.
Talk about a decline ….
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DECISION