Alam v. Priority One Ambulance, Inc.

Summary

The Appellate Division, Second Department, reversed an order denying defendants' motion for summary judgment in a personal-injury action arising from a motor vehicle accident. The court held that the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact regarding serious injury because he offered no reasonable explanation for a lengthy gap in medical treatment, including the period before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Holdings

1. The plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact because neither he nor his physicians offered a reasonable explanation for the lengthy gap in treatment from January 2019 to March 2021.
2. Defendants were entitled to summary judgment dismissing the complaint because the plaintiff did not sustain a serious injury within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102(d) as a result of the accident.

Questions Presented

1. Whether defendants were entitled to summary judgment dismissing the personal-injury complaint because Alam failed to establish that he sustained a serious injury within the meaning of Insurance Law § 5102(d).
2. Whether Alam raised a triable issue of fact despite the gap in treatment from January 2019 to March 2021.

Disposition

reversed