How have courts dealt with injuries sustained by the victim in a motor vehicle accident?

In People v. Boney, 119 A.D.3d 701, 701702, 989 N.Y.S.2d 137 [2014], in which the defendant's conviction of assault in the third degree was reversed and the indictment was dismissed, the victim fell to the ground during a robbery and sustained a bruised finger. The X rays taken of the victim's finger at a hospital indicated that there were no broken bones. The finger was bandaged and placed in a splint. The bruise was present on the victim's finger when he testified at the defendant's trial. However, he testified only generally that he felt pain on his hand and arms immediately after the incident (id. at 702, 989 N.Y.S.2d 137 ). Moreover, the victim in that case, unlike the victim in the case at bar, did not testify as to the effect of the injury to his finger for any length of time after the incident.

Also, unlike the victim in the case at bar, the victim in People v. Boley, 106 A.D.3d 753, 753754, 963 N.Y.S.2d 726 [2013] did not seek any medical treatment or miss any work.

In People v. Young, 99 A.D.3d 739, 739740, 951 N.Y.S.2d 735 [2012], the victim of a robbery underwent X rays at a hospital. However, the only treatment she received was Tylenol. Moreover, she testified at the trial that she experienced generalized pain and soreness in her neck, arms, legs, and feet. She did not testify to the degree ... of the pain, other than generally describing the pain as having intensified' after she returned to work one week after the incident (id. at 740, 951 N.Y.S.2d 735 ). In People v. Taylor, 83 A.D.3d 1105, 11051106, 921 N.Y.S.2d 553 [2011], the victim did not bleed or suffer any other physical manifestations of pain or injury other than a scratch and some reddening on her neck, or otherwise objectively demonstrate that she was in substantial pain during and immediately after the attack (id. at 1106, 921 N.Y.S.2d 553 ). While the victim went to a hospital, she was not diagnosed with any injury. She also provided no details that would corroborate her subjective description of pain (id. ). By contrast, in the case at bar, the victim was bleeding. She had a visible scratch from her nose to her mouth, which was corroborated by a detective. She was treated with a tetanus shot and antibiotic ointment. After missing two days of work, her face was burning.