Romance v. Zavala

In Romance v. Zavala (98 AD3d 726, 950 N.Y.S.2d 390), the injured plaintiff alleged that, as a result of an accident, he had difficulty urinating. Applying the relevance standard, the Appellate Division, Second Department ruled that "medical records concerning any treatment of the injured plaintiff's polycystic kidney disease were sufficiently related to the claimed conditions so as to be covered by the waiver." (Id. at 727.) Romance illustrates another kind of relatedness--medical records concerning the treatment of a body organ or member is "related" to a bodily function placed at issue because that body part or organ plays a role in that bodily function. An illness or dysfunction of a body part, organ or member results in an impairment to the body system or bodily function.