SPETTER v. John Doe No. 1, Defendant. (2009)

Judgment, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Norma Ruiz, J.), entered January 3, 2008, after a jury trial, awarding plaintiff damages for past and future pain and suffering in the principal amounts of $30,000 and $200,000 (over five years), respectively, plus interest, costs and disbursements, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

The testimony of plaintiff's treating physician and expert sufficiently established that the herniated disc in plaintiff's neck was caused by the subject accident and caused a significant and permanent loss of range of motion (see Toure v. Avis Rent A Car Sys., 98 N.Y.2d 345, 746 N.Y.S.2d 865, 774 N.E.2d 1197 [2002] ).   While defendants' experts opined that plaintiff's neck condition was due to degenerative changes, no basis exists to disturb the jury's resolution of this credibility issue (see Apuzzo v. Ferguson, 20 A.D.3d 647, 648, 798 N.Y.S.2d 537 [2005];  Jones v. Davis, 307 A.D.2d 494, 496, 763 N.Y.S.2d 136 [2003], lv. dismissed 1 N.Y.3d 566, 775 N.Y.S.2d 782, 807 N.E.2d 895 [2003] ).   The damage award does not deviate materially from what would be reasonable compensation under the circumstances (cf. Kithcart v. Mason, 51 A.D.3d 1162, 857 N.Y.S.2d 794 [2008] ).   We find defendants' remaining contentions unavailing.