Learn About the Law
Get help with your legal needs
FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
Elaine Y. Ovalles, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Mario A. Herrera, et al., Defendants–Respondents.
_
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Wilma Guzman, J.), entered December 3, 2010, which, in this action for personal injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident, granted defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint on the ground that plaintiff did not sustain a serious injury within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102(d), unanimously affirmed, without costs.
Defendants established their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Defendants submitted, inter alia, the affirmed reports of a neurologist and an orthopedist, who examined plaintiff and concluded that she had normal ranges of motion in her lumbar and cervical spine. To the extent the findings of the experts differed, such differences were not so significant as to affect defendants' entitlement to summary judgment (see Feliz v. Fragosa, 85 AD3d 417 [2011] ).
In opposition, plaintiff did not raise a triable issue of fact. She failed to present any competent medical evidence contemporaneous to the time of the accident showing limitations in the range of motion in her lumbar and cervical spine (see Rubencamp v Arrow Exterminating Co., Inc., 79 AD3d 509 [2010] ). Nor did she present any explanation for the absence of such records. The only objective evidence of limitation of motion is contained in a report of a physician who examined plaintiff several years after the accident. This finding is “too remote to raise an issue of fact as to whether the limitations were caused by the accident” (Lopez v. Simpson, 39 AD3d 420, 421 [2007] ).
Dismissal of plaintiff's claim under the 90/180–day category of Insurance Law § 5102(d) was also warranted. Defendants submitted plaintiff's testimony that she only missed two or three days of work as a result of the accident (see De La Cruz v. Hernandez, 84 AD3d 652 [2011]; Canelo v. Genolg Tr., Inc., 82 AD3d 584 [2011] ). In opposition, plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact.
We have considered plaintiff's remaining arguments and find them unavailing.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER
OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.
_
CLERK
Thank you for your feedback!
A free source of state and federal court opinions, state laws, and the United States Code. For more information about the legal concepts addressed by these cases and statutes visit FindLaw's Learn About the Law.
Docket No: 6163
Decided: November 29, 2011
Court: Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.
Search our directory by legal issue
Enter information in one or both fields (Required)
Harness the power of our directory with your own profile. Select the button below to sign up.
Learn more about FindLaw’s newsletters, including our terms of use and privacy policy.
Get help with your legal needs
FindLaw’s Learn About the Law features thousands of informational articles to help you understand your options. And if you’re ready to hire an attorney, find one in your area who can help.
Search our directory by legal issue
Enter information in one or both fields (Required)