Ellington Behavioral Health in Connecticut will pay $5,000 to a deaf patient to settle an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit.
The patient had filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, which led to a federal investigation.
Investigators determined that "the practice failed to provide interpreters for the individual during at least six appointments," according to a U.S. attorney. The U.S. attorney said that healthcare providers are required to provide interpreters for individuals who need them to communicate because of a disability under the ADA.
As part of the three-year settlement agreement, the owners of the practice will provide sign language interpreters. Richard Chumney "Ellington practice agrees to pay $5K to settle allegations it discriminated against hearing-impaired patient, officials say" www.stamfordadvocate.com (Aug. 10, 2024).
Commentary and Checklist
The ADA requires that Title II entities (state and local governments) and Title III entities (businesses and nonprofit organizations that serve the public) communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities.
The DOJ states, "The ADA places responsibility for providing effective communication, including the use of interpreters, directly on covered entities. They cannot require a person to bring someone to interpret for him or her." "ADA Requirements: Effective Communication" www.ada.gov (Feb. 28, 2020).
To help prevent an ADA violation, healthcare providers must provide a variety of auxiliary aids and services, as appropriate, depending on the communication-related disability, such as:
- A qualified notetaker
- A qualified sign language interpreter, oral interpreter, cued-speech interpreter, or tactile interpreter
- Real-time captioning
- Written materials
- Printed script of a stock speech
- A qualified reader
- Information in large print
- Braille
- A computer screen-reading program
- An audio recording of printed information
- A qualified speech-to-speech transliterator
- Communicate through a communication board
- Have paper and pencil available for the person to write on.
