Landmark Settlement for Patients With Disabilities Among First of Its Kind under ADA
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 12/12/2005
A recent settlement under Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires Washington Hospital Center to make sweeping changes to its facilities to ensure that patients with disabilities receive access to standard medical treatment."This settlement really goes above what is required by the ADA and beyond, in many instances," said Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn, executive director of the Equal Rights Center (ERC), the nonprofit organization that represented the plaintiffs.
The settlement requires the Washington Hospital Center, the largest private hospital in Washington, DC, to make the hospital -- and every piece of equipment in it - accessible to patients with disabilities, including patients with spinal cord injuries. The upgrades could cost almost $2 million, according to a Washington Post story.
The patients' lawsuit centered on the inability of four Washington Hospital Center patients to receive proper treatment because of inaccessible facilities at the hospital. The Disability Rights Center filed suit under the ADA in November 2003. The ERC took over the suit when the two organizations merged.
All of the patients had severe disabilities, including a quadriplegic and a patient who suffered from a spinal cord injury.
Plaintiffs said that in addition to the inadequate facilities, it was nearly impossible for them to eat and take care of themselves. The settlement agreement requires ten percent of the hospital's rooms to be wheelchair accessible.
"We realized quickly that four people with very similar complaints meant this was a systemic problem," said Elaine Gardner, Disability Rights Program Director for Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, who represented the plaintiffs.
The Department of Justice has said that the settlement is the most comprehensive ADA settlement ever on the issue of access to medical services. The DOJ was brought into the case after investigating a separate complaint made by the ERC.
Under the five-year agreement, Washington Hospital Center will also have to remove access barriers throughout the hospital; review its policies with the DOJ and the ERC; provide training for all staff on how to meet the needs of patients with disabilities; and institute special procedures for patients with spinal cord injuries.
All parties involved expressed satisfaction with the settlement. The DOJ and the ERC praised Washington Hospital Center for not fighting the suit. "We applaud [the Washington Hospital Center]...for working with us to reach a successful resolution," said Bradley J Schlozman, acting assistant attorney general for the DOJ's Civil Rights Division in a statement.
Jim Caldas, president of Washington Hospital Center, told the Washington Business Journal that "This settlement is simply the right thing to do."
The ADA, enacted in 1990, prohibits discrimination against Americans with physical and mental disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and transportation.
