Section 5104(a) of the New York Insurance law states that one must show that a “basic economic loss” of more than $50,000.00, or has suffered a “Serious Injury” as defined within Section 5102(d), to have a viable personal injury lawsuit arising out of a vehicle accident. Section 5102(d) states that the following types of injuries qualify as “Serious Injuries”: (i) Death, (ii) dismemberment, (iii) significant disfigurement, (iv) a fracture, (v) loss of a fetus, (vi) the permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system, (vii) a permanent consequential limitation of a body organ or member, (viii) a significant limitation of the use of a body function or system, or (ix) or a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person’s usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.
