Tort Claims Act, Municipal Government Responsibility for Police Actions

There was a recent Appellate Division case which was not approved for publication captioned, 23-2-9612 Bredell v Palischak, App Div., Which upheld the trial court’s grant of the defendant’s motion for summary judgment which dismissed the plaintiff’s claim for pain and suffering type damages. The Appellate Division held that the plaintiff did not meet his burden of showing that: 1) There was objective credible evidence that he suffered a permanent injury which the doctor relied upon; 2)the fact that the plaintiff attended physical therapy is not a basis for an objective finding; and 3) the diagnostic studies that were done in the emergency room after the motor vehicle accident did not disclose any objective findings of permanent injury. The plaintiff asserted an aggravation of a pre-existing injury, however the court indicated that the plaintiff failed to show sufficient evidence of causation to prove his condition before the accident, his condition after the accident, what exactly was aggravated and what aggravation could be attributed to the accident.