Thompson v. Sutter Health

In December 2006, DRA filed a class action lawsuit against Sutter in California state court on behalf of individuals with mobility and sensory disabilities alleging that Sutter maintained barriers to access in three areas:  (1) architectural barriers at Sutter facilities; (2) policies, practices, and procedures that did not accommodate individuals with physical disabilities at Sutter facilities or while communicating with Sutter facilities; and (3) inaccessible medical equipment at Sutter facilities.

In July 2008, the court approved a far-reaching class settlement agreement under which Sutter made comprehensive and substantial changes in all patient care facilities of its affiliates throughout Northern California, including:

• Accessible Medical Equipment: Sutter surveyed all of its hospital facilities and doctor offices and clinics to gather data on the presence of and additional need for accessible beds, weight scales, medical chairs, exam tables, and lift equipment. Following Class Counsel’s review and commentary, the parties reached agreement on plans for acquisition of accessible exam tables, medical chairs, and weight-capturing equipment and for acquisition of lift equipment. All twenty-six Sutter affiliates completed their planned purchases and installations. Additionally, all Sutter in-patient facilities adopted and implemented policies and procedures to ensure that accessible beds are provided as needed to patients with mobility disabilities.
• Architectural barriers: Sutter used mutually agreed experts in design standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act and California state code to review 942 project plans for barrier removal in existing facilities and for new construction. In all, Sutter identified 69,745 barriers for removal and completed work to remove all identified barriers. Mutually agreed upon access specialists monitored facilities after the work was completed to ensure compliance with state and federal access standards. Any non-compliant conditions that the access specialist identified were corrected before the project was closed. Sutter’s commitment to make these changes resulted in expenditure of millions of dollars.
• Policies and procedures: All Sutter affiliates implemented access related policies and procedures, which Class Counsel reviewed, provided input on, and ultimately approved. Those policies and procedures were reviewed every three years and updated as necessary.
• Website Accessibility: Sutter remediated barriers to its website, including the main Sutter Health website and affiliate sites, to its patient web portal, and to its mobile applications, in order to make them more accessible to persons with sensory disabilities.

The Compliance Period ended in September 2024. If you experience accessibility issues at Sutter, Sutter’s accessibility webpage (located at https://www.sutterhealth.org/accessibility) has contact information for individuals who handle ADA related concerns at each facility. Select the “Sutter Health Facility Contacts” dropdown to access this information.

DRA co-counseled with Linda Dardarian of the law firm Goldstein Borgen Dardarian & Ho (GBDH).