Appeal by defendants from an order of the Civil Court, Queens County

(M. Grays, J.), dated December 16, 2002, which denied their motion for summary judgment.

Order unanimously affirmed without costs.

The affirmed medical reports submitted by defendants in support of their motion for summary judgment made out a prima facie case that the plaintiff did not sustain a serious injury pursuant to Insurance Law § 5102 (d). One of defendants' doctors stated that plaintiff suffered soft tissue sprains of the lumbar spine. Another doctor, who examined plaintiff on defendants' behalf, concluded that there was no objective
evidence of any impairment, disability or permanency. This shifted the burden to the
plaintiff to raise a triable issue of fact (see 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 plaintiff's condition which had an objective basis and compared the plaintiff's limitations of motion of his lumbar spine to normal function (see Toure v Avis Rent A Car Sys., 98 NY2d 345, 350 [2002]).
Decision Date: April 27, 2004