Disabled persons find barriers in a variety of life circumstances. Many legislative acts have been created that protect these individuals from discrimination. The overall umbrella legislation addressing disabilities is the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) passed in 1990. History has shown that use of the Disability Discrimination Lawsuit has further defined remedies and reasonable accommodations through case law.
Disabled persons have issues in obtaining housing, employment, eduction, transportation and various government services. The ADA established a framework of protections that is parallel to that established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act provided protections against discrimination for individuals based on race, color, sex, national origin, age and religion. The ADA provides the same protections for the disabled. In addition, it provides for the affirmative requirement to provide reasonable accommodation so that disabled persons have the same access to services as the non-disabled.
Disabilities often come in degrees and much has been done to try to define a qualifying disability. Genetic disabilities, war and other injuries are often self explained. Other disabilities, such as mental and emotional conditions, may require more effort to define them as a qualifying disability.
An individual may feel discrimination in a variety of areas, such as access to housing, employment issues or education. If a person feels they have been given inadequate treatment or compensation by existing policies or practices, this can lead to a trip to a lawyer. An individual may file a complaint against an award in a disability or workers compensation case.
The problem of wheelchair access, indoors and outdoors, has persisted since establishment of ADA statutes, often because of the cost of renovation of older buildings. A very visible and costly accommodation is the creation of curb access through cutting curbs at street corners and creating ramp access highlighted by yellow rubber mats. Major office buildings, restaurants, and retail stores have made construction accommodations to meet the ADA standards.
Small business owners, on the other hand suffer financially when, for example, they need to remodel a bathroom to ADA specifications in an older or small building. Some lawyers have found a profitable business in targeting these businesses for lawsuits. As a result, many small businesses have had to pay settlements, or in some cases the businesses have closed because they were unable to meet the expenses required for remodel or litigation. There are records of law firms filing hundreds of such claims to make money from the resulting settlements or judgments.
Disability discrimination lawsuits continue to help shape interpretation of the ADA statutes. Much progress has been made in observance of the ADA statutes. At the same time there are clear instances of abuse of the right to sue, causing grief to small business owners and taking up agency and court time. The individual who is considering a lawsuit needs to consult a reputable attorney who is experienced with the ADA issues who can give a considered opinion on the merits of the case.
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