| Weber v Ryder TRS, Inc. |
| 2008 NY Slip Op 02833 [49 AD3d 865] |
| March 25, 2008 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Samuel Weber, Jr., et al., Respondents, v Ryder TRS, Inc.,et al., Appellants. |
—[*1] Torgan & Cooper, P.C., New York, N.Y. (Angélicque M. Moreno of counsel), forrespondents.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the defendants appeal from somuch of an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Bayne, J.), dated May 15, 2007, asdenied their motion to preclude the plaintiff Samuel Weber, Jr., from offering evidence on theissue of damages or, in the alternative, to compel that plaintiff to provide authorizations for therelease of certain medical records.
Ordered that the order is reversed insofar as appealed from, on the law, with costs, and thatbranch of the defendants' motion which was to compel the plaintiff Samuel Weber, Jr., to provideauthorizations for the release of his medical records pertaining to a prior right shoulder injury andsurgery is granted.
A party must provide duly executed and acknowledged written authorizations for the releaseof pertinent medical records when that party has waived the physician-patient privilege byaffirmatively putting his or her physical or mental condition in issue (see CPLR 3121 [a];Dillenbeck v Hess, 73 NY2d 278 [1989]; Cynthia B. v New Rochelle Hosp. Med.Ctr., 60 NY2d 452, 456-457 [1983]; Diamond v Ross Orthopedic Group, P.C., 41AD3d 768 [2007]), and CPLR 3101 (a) requires full disclosure of all evidence material andnecessary to the prosecution or defense of an action, regardless of the burden of proof (seeAllen v Crowell-Collier Publ. Co., 21 NY2d 403 [1968]). Here, information as to the natureand severity of the injured plaintiff's previous right shoulder injury and right shoulder surgery arematerial and necessary to the issue of damages, if any, recoverable for a claimed loss of [*2]enjoyment of life due to the current injuries sustained by him in thesubject motor vehicle accident (see Diamond v Ross Orthopedic Group, P.C., 41 AD3dat 769; Vanalst v City of New York, 276 AD2d 789 [2000]). Accordingly, that branch ofthe defendants' motion which was to compel the plaintiff Samuel Weber, Jr., to provideauthorizations for the release of his medical records pertaining to a prior right shoulder injury andsurgery should have been granted. Spolzino, J.P., Ritter, Dillon, Balkin and Leventhal, JJ.,concur.