Appeal by plaintiff from an order of the Civil Court, Queens County (J. Golia, J.), dated December 4, 2002, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment.

Order unanimously reversed without costs and defendant's motion for summary judgment denied.

Defendant moved for summary judgment on the ground that the plaintiff failed to satisfy the threshold requirement of suffering a serious injury under Insurance Law § 5102 (d). The medical evidence submitted by defendant in support of his motion made out a prima facie case that the plaintiff did not sustain a serious injury. The affirmations of defendant's medical experts stated that plaintiffs injuries were resolved. The burden therefore shifted to the plaintiff to raise a triable issue of fact that he sustained a serious injury (Gaddy v Eyler, 79 NY2d 955 [1992]).

The plaintiff successfully opposed the motion by presenting evidence that he suffered a serious injury. He submitted an affirmation from a doctor who presented a qualitative assessment of plaintiffs condition which had an objective basis and compared the plaintiffs limitations of motion of his cervical and lumbar spines to normal function (Toure v Avis Rent A Car Sys., 98 NY2d 345, 350 [2002]). This was sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact.

We note in this case that it is uncontroverted that an MRI revealed herniated discs at L3-L4 and L4-L5.
Decision Date: December 22, 2003