The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article about a disabled man who has made a career out of
suing small businesses for alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. At this time, his sole income (and it is substantial income) is through these lawsuits. Why is he able to do this? According to the L.A. Times, "California is one of the few states to put teeth into the disabilities law by
mandating penalties from businesses or government entities whose premises impede the disabled."
What does this mean for deaf people? The quoted language implies that the penalties apply only in the case of physical barriers. Without seeing the actual legislation or regulations mandating the penalities, I do not know if that applies in the case of a deaf person suing for say, lack of interpreters or captions, or if it is limited for example to cases where someone in a wheelchair can not access a restaurant. In addition, there is no mention of deaf people anywhere in this article.
If it does entitle deaf people in California to sue and get damages, should they? After reading this article and seeing how people object to the "serial litigation" going on by disabled people in California, I say no. Why do I say no? I say no because of the need to consider the image of the entire deaf and hard of hearing community.
Instead, I suggest deaf Californians who want to sue small businesses for ADA non-compliance, go ahead and sue, but instead of demanding damages like the serial litigants mentioned in this article, simply sue for compliance. Don't demand damages unless the businesses sued refuse to comply. Give them a fair chance to comply first.
As of March 30, 2009, insurance companies and state plans are required to pay at least part of the cost of hearing aids for youngsters 15 and under. This is the culmination of a battle that had taken place last year to get insurance coverage for hearing aids in New Jersey. Does anyone have a complete scorecard of which states now require insurance coverage for hearing aids for children?
Previous blog posts on New Jersey's hearing aid battle:
March 2008 - Battle for Insurance Coverage in New Jersey
November 2006 - New Jersey Moms Battle for Hearing Aid Insurance Coverage
The San Francisco media is all over the story of the deaf three year old Iraqi boy who was deafened by
bombing, who has been brought here for a cochlear implant. The child lost his hearing when a missile hit a house near his home.
As "heartwarming" as stories like this one are, I wonder how many more "Mustafas" there are waiting in Iraq, Israel, and Gaza? All the bombing going on must be deafening many more children. If and when the fighting stops, all those deafened children will need treatment and other help.
Any inappropriate comments will be deleted.
Related: Deafness and Bombing
Laura posted
on the forum saying she would like to hear about the experiences of mainstreamed deaf students in the United Kingdom. She also welcomes comments about mainstreaming from deaf people outside of the United Kingdom. If you
post a reply to Laura, be sure to state up front if you are from the U.K. or another country.
