Blind/Low Vision
June 9, 2016
Disability Rights Advocates and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the New York State Board of Elections and Department of Motor Vehicles over online voter registration that is inaccessible to people with disabilities on June 9, 2016. As a result of a settlement reached on February 25, 2019, the BOE and DMV have agreed to … Continue reading » “Eason, et al. v. New York State Board of Elections (NYS BOE), et al.”
April 14, 2016
In 2016, DRA reached a first-of-its-kind agreement with Netflix to make accessible for blind people the movies and videos offered through the Netflix video streaming and DVD rental subscriptions. Under the agreement, Netflix will provide a new technology called “audio description” for many popular titles in its streaming and disc rental libraries. Audio description technology … Continue reading » “Netflix Settlement”
February 26, 2016
Beginning in November 2017, Disability Rights Advocates and the Disability Law Center, Inc.represented the American Council of the Blind,Bay State Council of the Blind, and two individuals in litigation against Hulu, LLC to address the video streaming company’s failure to provide audio description and failure to maintain a website and applications that are accessible via … Continue reading » “ACB v. Hulu LLC”
February 2, 2016
In 2012, DRA, the California Council of the Blind (CCB), Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho (GBDH), and three Kaiser patients with vision disabilities entered structured negotiations with Kaiser Permanente to address health care access barriers. These barriers to services, programs, and facilities compromise the health care of people who are blind or low vision. Kaiser patients … Continue reading » “Kaiser Permanente Structured Negotiations”
January 14, 2016
AMC has agreed to improve audio description service in its theaters nationwide, after several blind individuals, the California Council of the Blind, and the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired (LightHouse) brought a case against the theater chain. Audio description technology enables people who are blind or low-vision to participate in and enjoy the … Continue reading » “Audio Description in AMC Theaters”
December 2, 2015
Do you have a disability? Do you face barriers at hospitals or clinics? Exam rooms too small? Waiting rooms are too crowded with furniture? Exam tables too high? Examined while still in your wheelchair? MRI machines and mammograms inaccessible? No accessible weight scales? No ASL interpreters? No information in Braille or large print? Staff does … Continue reading » “Access to Health Care in New York City”
May 9, 2015
In September 2016, Disability Rights Advocates announced a settlement of its federal class-action lawsuit on behalf of Bronx Independent Living Services (“BILS”) and three individuals with disabilities in the Bronx, alleging that the Union Community Health Center (“UCHC”) and St. Barnabas Hospital discriminate against patients with disabilities. Specifically, the suit had alleged that the UCHC … Continue reading » “Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS), et al. v. Union Community Health Center (UCHC), et al.”
March 24, 2015
Disabled employees of the Social Security Administration (SSA) challenged SSA’s discriminatory practice of limited job promotions and other career advancement opportunities for people with disabilities. On August 25, 2010, the EEOC Office of Federal Operations affirmed the October 8, 2008 decision of the Administrative Judge to certify the case as a class action. SSA filed … Continue reading » “Jantz, et al. v. Barnhart”
August 14, 2013
In October 2017, Disability Rights Advocates and Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, on behalf of United Spinal Association, Inc. and four individuals with mobility, vision, and hearing disabilities, settled a federal class action lawsuit against Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and Continuum Health Partners. The hospitals are … Continue reading » “United Spinal Association et al. v. Beth Israel Medical Center et al.”
September 21, 2012
DRA reached a class action settlement with the University of California, Berkeley that is resulting in comprehensive access improvements to this leading national University. The Plaintiffs are a class of all students with mobility and/or vision disabilities at U.C. Berkeley. Under the settlement, U.C. Berkeley has been removing thousands of access barriers throughout its facilities. … Continue reading » “Gustafson v. U.C. Berkeley”