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”
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”
Disability Rights Advocates, in partnership with the Arizona Center for Disability Law, filed this suit in November 2015, alleging that Total Transit Inc., doing business as Discount Cab, violates federal and state law by charging wheelchair users in Arizona a $10.00 fee per trip in addition to their regular fare because they require accessible taxis. … Continue reading “Stokes et al. v. Total Transit, Inc. (d/b/a Discount Cab)”
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”
Disability Rights Advocates in partnership with Public Counsel filed this lawsuit because Contra Costa County Juvenile Hall had a policy and practice of locking young people with disabilities in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day and depriving them of education. In a video, parents of young people held at Juvenile Hall say … Continue reading “G.F. et al. v. Contra Costa County et al.”
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.”
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”
James Phillips and Daniel Carione filed this lawsuit in 2011 to challenge their termination from the New York City Police Department under a policy that discriminates against officers with hearing aids. Both individuals had exemplary service records – and both sustained hearing loss while performing their duties as police officers. Yet, the NYPD terminated their … Continue reading “Phillips, et al. v. City of New York, et al.”
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.”
In 2012, DRA filed a lawsuit on behalf of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) and taxpayers Barbara Michel and Laura Magnani. The lawsuit alleged that Santa Rita Jail failed to provide for basic needs of people with disabilities by forcing people with mobility disabilities to live in inaccessible housing units that lacked basic … Continue reading “Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC) et al. v. Ahern et al.”