| WHEELCHAIR
USERS SUE LOCAL HOSPITAL CENTER
FOR DENYING ACCESSIBLE AND EQUAL CARE
November
25, 2003 – Citing the repeated failure of Washington
Hospital Center to provide accessible facilities and equipment
to disabled patients, the Disability Rights Council of
Greater Washington (DRC) and four individuals who use
wheelchairs filed suit today in the U.S. District Court
for the District of Columbia against the Hospital. The
plaintiffs ask the Court to order the Hospital to remove
barriers and change policies that prevent patients with
disabilities from fully benefiting from a broad range
of hospital services, from routine medical examinations
to specialized cancer treatment. Each
of the individual plaintiffs named in today’s suit,
Christopher Butler, Rosemary Ciotti, George Aguehounde and Marsha Johnson, have been unable
to access standard medical treatment unrelated to his
or her disability due to the inaccessibility of Washington
Hospital Center’s medical facilities, such as examination
rooms, examination tables and other medical equipment.
These patients have been forced to undergo medical examinations—including
gynecological and abdominal examinations—in their wheelchairs
due to the lack of accessible examination tables. Moreover,
when these patients are admitted to the Hospital, they
often face barriers to their recovery due to the inaccessibility
of hospital rooms and facilities.
Plaintiff
Christopher Butler, who is quadriplegic, was hospitalized
last year at Washington Hospital Center for the treatment
of severe burns. During this hospitalization, the Hospital
staff ignored his requests for assistance he needed
in feeding and hydrating himself despite the fact that
calorie intake and hydration is vital to recovery of
burn victims. Mr. Butler has explained, “I would lie
there hours at times, with my food or water right in
front of me but I was unable to eat or drink it because
hospital staff ignored my requests for help.”
Another plaintiff, Rosemary Ciotti,
last year received a series of radiation treatments
at Washington Hospital Center. Despite the fact that
she called several times before admission to confirm
the availability of an accessible lead lined room for
the treatment, Ms. Ciotti
arrived for the treatment to find that the Hospital
had no such room. In another incident, after surgery
Ms. Ciotti was placed in a hospital room that had no accessible
bathroom and was told
that she would have to use a bedpan, regardless of the
fact that her disability made this extremely difficult
and degrading.
For
many individuals with disabilities, Washington Hospital
Center is the only area medical center where they can
receive the care they need. However, these individuals
are often deterred from seeking necessary care because
of past humiliating and discouraging experiences.
As Ms. Ciotti states, “The
experience has made me reluctant to get necessary medical
care because it is demoralizing and embarrassing. I
have not been as conscientious about keeping my follow-up
appointments because psychologically it is very difficult
to overcome the experience of being discriminated against.”
“It is disappointing
that an organization charged with overseeing the well-being
of every patient that comes through its doors would
permit a different standard of care to individuals merely
because they have a disability,” stated Marc Fiedler,
Chair of the DRC, in announcing this lawsuit. “The
ADA was enacted over ten years ago. Hospitals must
understand that providing accessible care is a basic
requirement of the ADA that should have been satisfied
long ago."
The DRC, Mr. Butler, Ms. Ciotti, Mr, Aguehounde, and Ms. Johnson are represented by
Robert Cox, and Jennifer Bagosy
of the law firm of Howrey, Simon, Arnold & White, LLP, and Elaine Gardner,
Lois Williams, and Elise Roy of the Washington Lawyers'
Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs.
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