Practice point: In applying for to leave to amend the
complaint to increase the ad damnum clause, pursuant to CPLR 3025[b], a
petitioner is required to submit a physician's affirmation (1) showing a causal
connection between her condition and the accident, and (2) specifying the
claimed change in her condition, including any injuries that had not been previously
considered, or the extent to which the condition had worsened.
Student note: Here, the application was denied because petitioner
submitted a physician's affirmation which failed to establish that the
increased injuries to her lower back which required surgery were causally
related to the subject motor vehicle accident, as it failed to account for the
fact that the petitioner had claimed to have injured her lower back in
accidents that had occurred both prior and subsequent to the subject motor
vehicle accident.
Case: Matter of Sealy v. Morris, NY Slip Op 07116 (2d Dept. 2012).
Tomorrow's issue: Suing the Transit Authority.
