Court Opinion

ID: 9930960
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-07 21:08:57.831873+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:09:32.138770
License: Public Domain

Smajlaj v Jordan
               2024 NY Slip Op 30358(U)
                    February 1, 2024
           Supreme Court, New York County
        Docket Number: Index No. 150592/2020
                 Judge: James G. Clynes
Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip
 Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York
 State and local government sources, including the New
  York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service.
 This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official
                       publication.
                                                                                                                      INDEX NO. 150592/2020
 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                                             RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/01/2024

                                 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
                                           NEW YORK COUNTY
          PRESENT:            HON. JAMES G. CL YNES                                               PART                             22M
                                                                                      Justice
          ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X      INDEX NO.          150592/2020
           ZEF N. SMAJLAJ, LENA SMAJLAJ
                                                                                                  MOTION DATE         09/23/2022
                                                   Plaintiffs,
                                                                                                  MOTION SEQ. NO.        001
                                               - V -

           SHEILA J. JORDAN, CORINNE M. BENSON,                                                     DECISION+ ORDER ON
                                                                                                          MOTION
                                                   Defendants.
          ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X

          The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 001) 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36,
          37,39,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56
          were read on this motion to/for                                                      JUDGMENT - SUMMARY

                   Upon the foregoing documents and following oral argument, the motion by Defendant
          Sheila J. Jordan for summary judgment on the grounds that Plaintiff Zef N. Smajlaj' s (Plaintiff)
          claimed injuries do not satisfy the serious injury threshold under Insurance Law 5102 (d) are
          decided as follows:
                   Plaintiff seeks recovery for injuries allegedly sustained as a result of a July 6, 2018 motor
          vehicle accident. Plaintiffs Bill of Particulars alleges injuries to his cervical spine, lumbar spine,
          bilateral shoulders, and left wrist and that these injuries fall within the categories set forth under
          Insurance Law 5102 (d). Specifically, Plaintiff alleges an intra-articular fracture of the left wrist.
                    In support of her motion, Defendant Jordan relies on the affirmed Independent Medical
          Examination report by Dr. John L. Xethalis, orthopedic surgeon, and the affirmed independent
          radiological interpretation of Dr. Marc J. Katzman, radiologist.
                    Dr. Xethalis examined Plaintiff on January 27, 2022, and concluded that as a result of the
          accident, Plaintiff suffered from cervical spine, lumbar spine, bilateral shoulders, and left wrist
          sprains/strains, all of which are resolved.                      Plaintiff's range of motion was measured with a
          goniometer using normal values according to AMA Guidelines, and Dr. Xethalis found normal
          range of motion with negative objective tests as to Plaintiff's cervical spine, lumbar spine, right
          shoulder, left shoulder, left wrist, and left hand. Dr. Xethalis noted that Plaintiff aggravated his
          underlying degenerative disease of the cervical spine and lumbar spine at the time of the accident.

                                                                                                                      Page I of4
            150592/2020 SMAJLAJ, ZEF N. vs. JORDAN, SHEILA J.
            Motion No. 001

                                                                           1 of 4
[* 1]
                                                                                                   INDEX NO. 150592/2020
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                       RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/01/2024

           Within a reasonable degree of medical certainty, Dr. Xethalis found no orthopedic residuals, no
           evidence of permanency, and no functional impairment.
                  Dr. Katzman undertook an independent radiological review of the X-Rays of Plaintiff's
           left knee, left shoulder, and left wrist all taken on July 16, 2018. With regard to the left knee, Dr.
           Katzman found no evidence of recent fracture or dislocation deformity and noted mild to moderate
           pre-existing chronic tricompartmental degenerative osteoarthritis. With regard to the left shoulder,
           Dr. Katzman found no evidence of recent fracture or dislocation injury, but he observed pre-
           existing subacromial impingement configuration, due to a laterally down-sloping acromion
           process with subacromial bone spur formation. With regard to the left wrist, Dr. Katzman found
           no visible recent-appearing fracture or dislocation deformity, but he observed a chronic-appearing
           posttraumatic deformity of the distal radius, suggestive of an old remote fracture injury and a pre-
           existing high-grade degenerative osteoarthritis of the basal joint of the thumb and there are pre-
           existing degenerative fibrocystic changes within the lunate bone.
                  Defendant Jordan has met her initial burden of establishing that Plaintiff did not sustain
           serious injuries as a result of the subject accident under Insurance Law 5102 (d) (Perez v
           Rodriguez, 25 AD3d 506 [1st Dept 2006]).
                  In opposition, Plaintiff relies on the affirmed narrative report of Dr. Keyan Ma as well as
           the certified treatment records from Keyan Ma, MD, the affirmations of Dr. Laurie S. Sanchez,
           radiologist, and the affirmed MRI review report by Dr. Thomas Kolb.
                  Dr. Ma initially examined Plaintiff on July 13, 2018, and treated him until July 14, 2021,
           with subsequent visits in 2022. The medical records submitted show restrictions in range of
           motion to the areas where Plaintiff alleges injuries and positive objective tests. Dr. Ma's narrative
           report from Plaintiffs November 17, 2022 examination details that Plaintiffs range of motion was
           measured with a goniometer and that Plaintiff still exhibits limitation in range of motion of his
           cervical spine, lumbar spine, and left shoulder. Dr. Ma reported positive Neer's and Hawkin's tests
           as to Plaintiffs left shoulder, positive Guyon's Tunnel and Phalen's tests as to Plaintiffs bilateral
           wrists, and positive Kemp's test as to Plaintiffs lumbar spine.
                  Dr. Ma reviewed both the 2018 X-Rays and MRis. Similar to the findings of Dr. Katzman
           upon review of Plaintiffs July 16, 2018 X-Rays, Dr. Ma noted signs of osteoarthritis as to
           Plaintiffs left knee and subacromial spurs on Plaintiffs left shoulder. However, Dr Ma concluded
           that these conditions were exacerbated by the subject accident.

                                                                                                    Page 2 of 4
            150592/2020 SMAJLAJ, ZEF N. vs. JORDAN, SHEILA J.
            Motion No. 001

                                                                2 of 4
[* 2]
                                                                                                      INDEX NO. 150592/2020
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                          RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/01/2024

                   With regard to Plaintiffs left wrist, in his review of the July 16, 2018 X-Ray, Dr. Ma noted
           a healed to healing intra-articular fracture of the distal radius of Plaintiffs left wrist. Similarly,
           Dr. Kolb reported a complete comminuted intra-articular fracture of the distal radius in Plaintiffs
           left wrist in his review of Plaintiffs July 16, 2018 X-Ray.
                   Dr. Ma also reported that Plaintiffs left wrist injury was caused by the subject motor
           vehicle accident and that the remaining injuries Plaintiff sustained during the subject motor vehicle
           accident accelerated the progression of his conditions. With regard to the severity of these multiple
           degenerative conditions which are progressive conditions, Dr. May reported that they may now be
           considered chronic and have progressed more rapidly due to the subject accident. Dr. Ma further
           reports that Plaintiff suffers from a disability as he cannot continue in full capacity of his
           occupation and may not continue activities of daily living at full capacity without limitations or
           restrictions.
                   In reply, Defendant Jordan contends that the contemporaneous left wrist X-Ray did not
           conclusively establish that Plaintiff fractured his left wrist in the accident, and as such Plaintiff has
           failed to establish causation of this alleged injury.
                   By relating Plaintiffs injuries to the accident, Plaintiffs physicians raised triable issues of
           fact (Williams v Perez, 92 AD3d 528, 529 [1st Dept 2012]; McIntosh v Sisters Servants of Mary,
           105 AD3d 672 [1st Dept 2013]).
                   With regard to the final category claimed under Insurance Law 5102 (d), 90/180 days, a
           plaintiff must submit objective m~dical evidence to establish a claim, namely that s/he was
           prevented from performing substantially all usual and customary daily activities for not less than
           90 days during the 180 days immediately following the subject accident (Elias v Mahlah, 58 AD3d
           434 [1st Dept 2009]). Here, Plaintiffs Bill of Particulars alleges that he was confined to his bed
           for approximately two weeks and confined to his home for approximately two weeks. Plaintiff
           testified that he did not miss any days from work, he is unable to golf or do work on the house
           such as tiling and flooring, and is no longer able to contribute to housework as he used to.
           Plaintiffs subjective claims of pain and his unsubstantiated claim that he was unable to perform
           his customary daily activities during the relevant period following the accident are insufficient to
           raise a triable issue of fact with respect to his 90/180 days serious injury claim (Copeland v
           Kasalica, 6 AD3d 253, 254 [1st Dept 2004]). Thus, Defendant's motion for summary judgment
           is granted under the 90/180 days category only.

            150592/2020 SMAJLAJ, ZEF N. vs. JORDAN, SHEILA J.                                         Page 3 of 4
            Motion No. 001

                                                                3 of 4
[* 3]
                                                                                                   INDEX NO. 150592/2020
  NYSCEF DOC. NO. 57                                                                         RECEIVED NYSCEF: 02/01/2024

                   Accordingly, it is
                   ORDERED that the motion by Defendants for summary judgment and dismissal of
           Plaintiffs complaint is DENIED except as to Plaintiffs claim of serious injury under the 90/180
           days category of Insurance Law 5102 (d); and it is further
                   ORDERED that any requested relief not specifically addressed herein has nonetheless
           been considered; and it is further
                   ORDERED that within 30 days of entry, Plaintiff shall serve a copy of this Decision and
           Order upon Defendants with Notice of Entry.
                   This constitutes the Decision and Order of the Court.

                    2/1/2024
                     DATE                                                       JAMES G. CL YNES, J.S.C.

                                      ~
            CHECK ONE:                     CASE DISPOSED                 NON-FINAL DISPOSITION

                                          GRANTED           □ DENIED     GRANTED IN PART         □ OTHER
            APPLICATION:                   SETTLE ORDER                  SUBMIT ORDER

            CHECK IF APPROPRIATE:          INCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN    FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT   □ REFERENCE

            150592/2020 SMAJLAJ, ZEF N. vs. JORDAN, SHEILA J.                                       Page 4 of 4
            Motion No. 001

                                                                4 of 4
[* 4]