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Category: Legal
State in Violation of ADA law
A federal judge says Georgia is in volition of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Deaf people who need group home care are being denied access to mental health services and there are not enough mental health care practitioners in the state who know sign language. The issue came to light because of a lawsuit filed on behalf of two deaf adults with severe mental illness and developmental disabilities. A magistrate judge will oversee talks between lawyers for the deaf adults and the state.
Phone Company: Lawsuit "improper and brazen"
AT&T is asking a judge to dismiss a Justice Dept. lawsuit against it for allegedly failing to stop swindlers from taking millions out of a service meant to benefit the deaf. The suit claims the company knew Nigerian con men were stealing from the IP Relay service, but did nothing about it. Instead, it knowingly asked for reimbursement of international calls that are not eligible for the reimbursement program. AT&T says it didn't know the calls - as much as 95% of all the calls - were being fabricated and the lawsuit is an “improper and brazen attempt to use the False Claims Act to litigate a garden-variety regulatory claim.” The case started as a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Constance Lyttle, a former worker at an AT&T call center. The FCC reimburses companies like AT&T about $1.30 per minute out of a fund created by fees placed on consumer phone bills.
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Texas Suit over Accommodations
A East Texas man is suing his former employer. Steven White says Broadway Home Center in Tyler violated ADA law by not accommodating his disability. White says he suffered hearing loss during his time working for the company as a salesman but he was not given a telephone that he could use and was insulted by his superior for his difficulty hearing. He eventually quit when he was criticized for failing to a complete a job because he couldn't fully understand the instructions.
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Million Dollar Lawsuit
A former student is suing Portland State University for not allowing her service dog to stay with her because the building had carpeting. Cindy Leland says she was told she would have to live in another building without carpeting if she kept the dog. Leland says she was also harassed by someone regularly knocking at her door in the middle of the night. Her dog would alert her to the noise, but no one would be there when she got up to answer it. She says school officials refused to install a security camera to help her discover the culprit. Her suit claims other students with service dogs were threatened with eviction. She's asking for more than $1 million.
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Implant Suit
Wyly Wade is suing Cochlear Limited in US court because the Australian company's implants failed his daughter. Cochlear recalled the Nucleus CI500 implant just one month after both of his daughter's implants quit working and had to be surgically removed, apparently because of a moisture problem in the device. Wade wants class action status for his complaint, which says the failure rate of the devices is 2.4%.
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Wendy’s Faces ADA Suit
A discrimination lawsuit will be filed soon for the way a deaf job applicant was treated by a Wendy's in Killeen, Texas (about 70 miles north of Austin). The man applied for a cooker position and had two years experience. During an interview with the Wendy's general manager, he was told “there is really no place for someone we cannot communicate with.” The EEOC is now working on behalf of the applicant.Read More at DeafNewsToday.com
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Interpreters and Dentists
Dentists are required to provide sign language interpreters for their Medicaid patients. Doctors in practices with fewer than 15 employees can get reimbursement for the interpreter's fee, though the physician is still responsible for arranging for the service.
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T-Mobile Fined
The FCC is fining T-Mobile $819,000 for not offering enough phones that are hearing aid compatible. Agency rules require wireless device makers to produce a certain number of handsets that can work with hearing aids, but T-Mobile fell short of the requirement in 2009 and during most of 2010. The FCC's goal is to make sure hearing aid users offer a decent number of phone choices.
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School Gets Eminent Domain
The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind now has the power of eminent domain. Florida governor Rick Scott signed a bill into law yesterday, granting the school the authority. State representative Bill Proctor of St. Augustine pushed the bill, saying it was unfair that the school was the only public education entity in the state, from high school districts to colleges, to not have the power. But some people living in St. Augustine didn't like the idea. They say the school will use the power to buy up property in historic neighborhoods. In order to quiet their concerns, the bill exempts anything in the city limits for a decade.
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Plane Crash Trial Underway
A trial is underway stemming from the crash of a plane during a Deaf Pilots Association event in Edgartown, Massachusetts. The three people on board the plane sued Cessna, accusing the aircraft manufacturer of faulty equipment. The Jeff Willoughby and his daughter, agreed to a settlement Friday. But the pilot, Alec Naiman, did not accept an offer from Cessna. The trial has been underway for three weeks and may go to the jury by the end of this week. The crash took place in 2005 at the Edgartown-Katama Airpark, leaving all three with serious injuries and Naiman a paraplegic.
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