RECENT DECISIONS analyzing whether plaintiffs have met their burden of showing a “serious injury” under the No Fault Law (Insurance Law �5102(d)) rely heavily upon numerical data quantifying a percentage degree of loss.
The judicial insistence on percentage loss has detracted from the weight that should be given to the professional opinion of trained medical personnel based upon their experience and judgment, as well as objective testing. The adequacy of this type of analysis was ripe for comprehensive judicial review and recently was addressed by the Court of Appeals in Toure v. Avis Rent A Car Systems, Inc., (The New York Law Journal, July 10, 2002, p.18) with a welcome revision in the manner of evaluating “serious injury” under the No Fault Law. In Toure, the Court of Appeals shows a more balanced approach, combining a qualitative assessment of an injured person’s limitations and objective testing.
