Insurance Law §5102(d) defines ‘serious injury’ as a personal injury that results in one or more of nine definitional terms. Traditionally, these terms have been strictly construed and personal injuries that did not meet one on the nine definitions could not be considered ‘serious injuries’ for purposes of §5102(d). One category of ‘serious injury’ that has seen recent expansion is injuries that result in “significant limitation of use of a body function or system.” See Insurance Law §5102(d).

The Third and Fourth Departments have begun to consider post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a ‘serious injury’ under Insurance Law §5102(d)’s definition of “significant limitation of use of a body function or system.” This inclusion is a significant expansion of the statutory definition which has been strictly interpreted. Currently, the First and Second Departments have not followed this trend of incorporating PTSD into definition of ‘serious injury.’

‘Significant’ Threshold