Opinion
May 19, 1998
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Jerry Crispino, J.)
The straight-leg raising tests conducted by plaintiffs treating physician and his observation of spasms, which he quantified as indicating a 30% loss of motion in plaintiffs lumbosacral spine and a 30% loss of rotation, abduction and extension in the cervical spine, constitute objective evidence of a serious injury ( see, O'Sullivan v. Atrium Bus Co., 246 A.D.2d 418; Risbrook v. Coronamos Cab Corp., 244 A.D.2d 397; Kim v. Cohen, 208 A.D.2d 807), and those findings, two years after the accident, causing the doctor to believe the injuries were permanent, create a triable issue as to whether plaintiff did indeed suffer a "serious injury" within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102 (d), notwithstanding the normal results of X-rays, an MRI and a CT scan ( see, O'Sullivan v. Atrium Bus Co., supra; Cammarere v. Villanova, 166 A.D.2d 760, 761). Plaintiff's assertion that he was unable to work for four months following his accident, confirmed by the physicians affirmation that he confined plaintiff to bed rest for that period, also establishes that plaintiff could not engage in his usual and customary activities for at least 90 out of the 180 days following the accident, and the absence of corroborating work records merely creates a triable issue of fact.
Concur — Milonas, J.P., Rosenberger, Nardelli, Wallach and Rubin, JJ.