Deaf Woman Suing Jack in the Box

Deaf California woman suing Jack in the Box fast food restaurant for refusing service at drive-thru.

SAN JOSE, California -- ReVae Arnaud-Jensen is not a confrontational woman. She describes herself as a hardworking, responsible, single mother of three.

But, when she tried to order at a Jack in the Box in Campbell on Aug. 31 and the man behind the counter refused her service, as captured on video, she knew she had to stand her ground.

Arnaud-Jensen is profoundly Deaf, no hearing at all. She was born that way. While she can read lips, she could not hear the voice over the speaker.

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When she proceeded to the next window to explain, the employee was angry that she was not responding. She stayed for two hours and never got her order.

Read More: Jack in the Box Worker Mocks Deaf Customer

"I was just fed up, the constant, you know, telling us to go, to go, when it should be equal access," she said.

There are approximately 40 million people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in the United States. Arnaud-Jensen says she is fighting for the entire community. It's one of the reasons why she posted the video on Facebook.

"I don't like confrontation, but I fight for equal access," she said.

Arnaud-Jensen says she spoke to the manager of the store and was told the employee was fired. But, she is standing her ground and even pursuing legal action for this reason.

"Things done to us, not okay, I will stand and fight for that, for everyone in the community, it's for you guys, the community, not me but for them, so there will be no more suffering for the Deaf community."

She says this kind of discrimination happens to her almost every day and it needs to stop. Arnaud-Jensen says she is demanding, at the very least, that Jack In The Box train their employees, including the CEO to understand Deaf culture.

ABC7 News reached out to Jack in the Box. In a statement, they sent ABC7 this response:

"We have been informed of the incident that took place between an employee and hearing-impaired guest, in the drive-thru at a Campbell, California restaurant on August 31st. We do not tolerate the mistreatment of any customers and expect employees to follow all training procedures, be respectful, courteous and accommodating to all guests. After a thorough investigation of the incident and direct contact with the local franchise owner, we understand the employee in the video has been terminated."

SOURCE - ABCNews

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Deaf Woman Fights Miami Hospital For Terp

Deaf News: Deaf woman fights Miami Hospital for interpreter in Florida.

MIAMI, FL -- Next week, next month or maybe next year -- she does not know exactly when -- Cheylla Silva will need to visit her local hospital again. And when that happens, Silva, who is Deaf, doesn't want to struggle just to communicate with doctors and nurses as she has the last two dozen times.

Silva communicates in American Sign Language, and she says she has labored to convey and comprehend the most basic information at Baptist Hospital Miami because the hospital has refused to provide an interpreter.

Instead, she has been directed to a Video Remote Interpreting system or VRI for communication. But the remote video service crashes, the feed can be choppy and it's hard to see when she's lying in a hospital bed with tubes in her arms or when a medical team has crowded into her room.

"Why does everything have to be a struggle?" Silva, 34, asked through an interpreter. "I just want to be able to communicate like anybody else."

On Wednesday, Silva was in federal court in Miami to argue that Baptist Hospital's refusal to provide a live interpreter violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. She filed the case against Baptist in 2014 along with John Paul Jebian, a Miami man who also is Deaf. A U.S. District Court judge dismissed the case a year later but Silva and Jebian are appealing.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division also weighed in on the case, filing a brief in support of Silva and Jebian's claims, and urging the federal appeals court to reverse the dismissal by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams.

The appeal centers on whether the remote video service -- which allows an interpreter to translate via video screen -- provides equal access and effective communication for a deaf patient as required by the ADA, said Matthew Dietz, an attorney with the Disability Independence Group, a nonprofit advocate for the disabled representing Silva and Jebian.

Dietz argued that system may work in some hospital settings, such as one-on-one meeting with a nurse or doctor, but it is ineffective and inadequate in others, such as during an MRI or X-ray, or during child birth or group therapy sessions.

He said Baptist's refusal to dedicate a high-speed, wide bandwidth Internet connection for the service also means blurry and choppy images, and repeated disconnections.

Deaf patients, Dietz said, "deserve to know what's happening to them."

SOURCE - EMSWorld

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Deaf Man Beaten, Tasered and Choked by Police

California Deaf man beaten, tasered and choked by police for not understanding commands awarded $55,000 settlement.

LOS ANGELES -- PINAC News: After mistaking a Deaf man for a thief, beating him, tasering him and choking him because he was unable to understand their commands, the Hawthorne Police Department in southwest Los Angeles has settled a lawsuit for $55,000. The settlement was approved by the City Council on Tuesday in California.

The Deaf man identified as Jonathan Meister and co-plaintiff Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness Inc. will receive the settlement on the basis of civil rights violations under the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

Meister was at a friends house in February 2013 gathering items from his vehicle when a neighbor called police thinking he was a car thief, according to NBC Los Angeles.

Although there were four officers that responded to the call, Officers Jeffrey Salmon and Jeffrey Tysl were identified as the aggressors.

Once on scene, they yelled out to Meister and he in return motioned that he was Deaf.

The officers motioned for Meister to come towards them, which he did, but then they grabbed his wrists and placed his hands behind his back – a very uncomfortable position for Meister given the fact that he is Deaf and uses his hands to speak.

The lawsuit, which can be read here, describes how officers Salmon and Tysl got close to Meister and roughed him up. Amidst the miscommunication, Meister ran away from the officers who gave chase, only to catch him, fight with him more and taser him.

The officers pushed Meister up against the wall. Officer Salmon put Meister in a choke hold and subsequently kneed him twice in the abdomen.

Officer Tysl then punched Meister in the face repeatedly.

That was when Salmon shot Meister with a Taser X-26 which brought Meister careening to the ground. Officers kicked and elbowed Meister repeatedly while another officer shocked him a second time with the taser.

After a second choke hold and third Taser shock, Meister lost consciousness.

According to the suit, the officers, “shot taser darts into Mr. Meister, administered a number of painful electric shocks, struck him with fists and feet, and forcibly took him to the ground.”

“They ended up grabbing his arms and turning him around, and if you do that to a deaf person, it’s like gagging them. It would be like if I put my hand over your mouth if you try to tell me something,” says Meister’s lawyer John Burton.

Meister was arrested, taken to the hospital, and then into custody at the county jail, but officials dropped the charges at the jail due to the circumstances.

The suit claims Meister suffered, “extreme physical pain and suffering, humiliation, hardship, anxiety, and indignity, and severe mental and emotional anguish pain.”

Meister is a graduate of the University of Ohio and holds a Masters degree in Architecture. In a recollection of events, Meister’s wrote:

“I didn’t mean to resist — it’s ultimately my responsibility. But, with claustrophobia, logic gets pushed down a bit! I did not mean to resist, only to put space between myself and the officers so I could communicate.”

Per the settlement, the Hawthorne Police Department has pledged to change its communication and use of force policies regarding Deaf civilians. The new policy includes providing qualified interpreters to jailed deaf suspects, a booking video and transcript to describe the arrest process, and a video or TTY phone.

Just a few months ago in Charlotte, NC a Deaf man was shot and killed by a state highway patrol officer. The man lead officers on a brief high speed chase. When the chase came to an end, the Deaf man exited his vehicle charging at the officer on foot who in return fatally shot the man after repeated verbal commands to stop.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol officer has not yet been charged with a crime because the investigation is still pending.

SOURCE

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Deaf Immigrant Awarded $250K Settlement

Deaf Man receives $250K settlement after being jailed with no access to interpreter in Virginia.

ARLINGTON, Virginia -- NBC4 Washington: A Deaf man will receive a $250,000 settlement from the Arlington County Sheriff's Office after it failed to provide a sign language interpreter for him while he was jailed, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Friday.

The man, Abreham Zemedagegehu, has said he spent part of his six-week stay at the Arlington County Detention Facility in 2014 unaware of the charges against him. The Justice Department launched an investigation into Zemedagegehu's claim last year.

NBC News covered a story about Abreham Zemedagegehu and his experience in jail without an interpreter.

"I felt like I was losing my mind," Zemedagegehu said through an interpreter in an interview at his lawyer's office. "I thought Virginia would give me an interpreter and they said no. That's why I felt lost."

Zemedagegehu also said the jail failed provide a communications device to help him communicate with his lawyer and performed medical procedures on him without explaining them or getting his consent.

A native of Ethiopia, he can communicate in American Sign Language but is largely unable to communicate in written English.

Zemedagegehu sued the sheriff's office in federal court, saying his treatment failed to meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Among the concerns raised in his lawsuit was the jail's reliance on teletypewriter devices to allow Deaf inmates to communicate with people outside the jail. The sheriff's office has defended its use of the TTY machine, but Zemedagegehu's lawsuit said the device is useless for someone who can't read English and obsolete because videophones are now used predominantly in the Deaf community.

Zemedagegehu's ordeal began Feb. 2, 2014, when he was arrested after being accused of stealing another man's iPad. He said he pleaded guilty to the charge because a plea bargain offered him a sentence of time served. Later, though, the man who accused him of the theft said he'd found the device and rescinded his accusation.

Under the settlement, the sheriff's office will pay $250,000 to Zemedagegehu, and must take steps to comply with the ADA. This includes appointing an ADA coordinator, providing ADA training to its staff, and ensuring that auxiliary aids and services are provided. The Justice Department said the sheriff's office has taken several steps to improve its ADA compliance even before finalizing the settlement agreement.

"People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing must be able to communicate clearly with law enforcement officials," said Tracy Doherty-McCormick, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, in a statement Friday. "Through this settlement agreement, the Arlington County Sheriff has taken important steps to ensure that the operations of the Arlington County Detention Facility are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act."

Source: Deaf Man Receives $250K Settlement After Being Jailed With No Access to Interpreter in Arlington | NBC4 Washington.

Follow us: @nbcwashington on Twitter | NBCWashington on Facebook

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Deaf Movie Fans Sues Celebration! Cinemas

Deaf News: Celebration! Cinemas sued for failing to accommodate Deaf, Hard of Hearing in Michigan.

BENTON HARBOR, MI -- West Michigan movie fans who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing are suing Celebration! Cinemas for discrimination, alleging their Benton Harbor theater fails to provide widely available captioning accommodations.

Graham Forsey, 23, a St. Joseph resident who is Deaf, alongside the National Association of the Deaf filed a lawsuit Monday against Loeks Theatres, Inc., also known as Celebration! Cinemas. Forsey says he asked the Benton Harbor theater multiple times in writing to provide captioning and Celebration! Cinemas failed to accommodate, according to the lawsuit.

Read the full lawsuit here.

“It’s about access," said Mary Vargas, an attorney representing the plaintiffs. "It’s about Mr. Forsey and members of the National Association of the Deaf being able to go to the movies.”

A non-profit representing more than 137,000 Michiganders who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the NAD is suing Celebration! Cinemas with Forsey stating this failure to provide captioning technology violates a basic civil right as specified under the Americans with Disabilities Act among other laws. Meanwhile, Forsey says he is forced to drive about an hour to another movie theater which accommodates him.

Celebration! Cinemas responded to FOX 17 Monday and confirmed their Benton Harbor theater does not have any captioning accommodations, releasing this statement:

"We’re fully aware of the issues surrounding this complaint and new technologies will help resolve it very soon.

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) has been working actively with advocacy groups to clarify updated standards for supporting the Deaf community. These standards are currently being reviewed by the Department of Justice, and we expect a ruling from them in the very near future.

Celebration! Cinema is committed to continuing to improve services for all of our guests, and we are looking forward to the approval of these standards so we can continue to invest in closed captioning technology. Currently, we have assisted listening devices in all locations and closed captioning in our Grand Rapids and Lansing, MI markets. Benton Harbor and other locations will receive captioning equipment in the coming months upon the adoption of the new standards.

Technological solutions for visually and hearing impaired guests are evolving at a rapid rate. We look forward to working collaboratively with NATO and advocacy groups both locally and nationally on this topic.

Steve VanWagoner, VP of Marketing & Public Relations, Celebration! Cinema"

Closed captioning technology is readily available at other movie theaters. It ranges from open captioning an entire audience would see, to captioning glasses, or individual devices that fit onto a theater seat.

"It's frustrating because it’s been so many years since this was a legal requirement for theaters," said Vargas. "There are roughly 137,000 people in the state of Michigan who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and guess what? They’re just like everybody else. They like to go to the movies.”

SOURCE - FOX NEWS

Deaf Woman Sues Taco Bell Over Drive-Thru

Deaf New Jersey woman sues Taco Bell over drive-thru orders.

TRENTON, NJ -- A Deaf Atlantic City woman who primarily communicates in sign language is suing Taco Bell, saying she found it difficult, if not impossible, to order two tacos at the fast-food chain's drive-thru window.

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Gina Cirrincione said in her federal lawsuit that on Jan. 11, she wrote her order on a slip of paper and handed it to an employee at the drive-thru pickup window at a Taco Bell in Pleasantville, New Jersey.

Her video of the exchange, provided to The Associated Press by her lawyer, showed an employee trying to explain that orders are placed at the start of the drive-thru.

"I will do it this one time," he then said. "I want you to understand me, one time. After that, no more. After that, no more. Come inside. OK, is that fair?"

On March 15, Cirrincione said, she wrote her order on a slip of paper and handed it to a drive-thru employee at a Taco Bell in Atlantic City. The note was returned and the window was shut without the order or an explanation, she said. She said she entered the store and was ignored.

Taco Bell's drive-thru system requires a customer to hear and speak, making it inaccessible to the Deaf in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act, the lawsuit claims.

Taco Bell spokeswoman Laura Nedbal said in a statement Friday to the AP that the California-based company had not yet received the lawsuit so could not comment on it. However, she added, "Taco Bell has a fundamental policy to respect all of our customers and employees, and we are committed to maintaining an environment free of discrimination or harassment."

Cirrincione wants Taco Bell to develop a policy to consider the needs of Deaf customers and to train employees about their rights. She also is seeking punitive and compensatory damages.

"With today's technology and the sophistication of Taco Bell, there is no excuse that their drive-thrus cannot be accessible," said attorney Eric Baum of The Eisenberg & Baum Law Center For The Deaf and Hard of Hearing, who is representing Cirrincione.

SOURCE - BigStory

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Deaf/Blind Teen Brutally Beaten By TSA Agents

TSA sued for brutal beating Deaf, partially blind teen girl recovering from brain surgery at Memphis Airport.

MEMPHIS, TN -- A teen just released from brain surgery was beaten by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents inside the Memphis International Airport last year, a recent lawsuit alleges.

The TSA is listed as a defendant in a suit accusing them of injuring a mentally disabled teen after she was unable to understand or comply with orders at a security checkpoint.

Newly surfaced photos show the aftermath of the June 30, 2015 incident, in which agents roughed up 19-year-old Hannah Cohen leaving her bloodied and bruised.

“They wanted to do further scanning; she was reluctant. She didn’t understand what they were about to do,” her mother Shirley Cohen told WREG.

The lawsuit claims before Hannah had brain tumor surgery at St. Jude’s hospital, she already had “a physical and mental impairment that substantially limit one or more of her life activities.”

“More particularly,” the lawsuit continues, “Hannah has damage from radiation and removal of a brain tumor that substantially limits her ability to speak, walk, stand, see, hear, care for herself, learn and work, think, concentrate, and interact with others.”

“This substantial limitation is obvious upon sight and was obvious” on the day of the incident, the lawsuit filed in US District Court states.

“She’s trying to get away from them,” Hannah’s mother described, “but in the next instant, one of them had her down on the ground and hit her head on the floor. And I looked and there’s blood everywhere.”

All the while Shirley was kept from being able to help her daughter, causing her “extreme emotional injury as she watched the personnel assault her daughter,” according to court documents obtained by Infowars.

The Memphis International Airport Police Department is also included as a defendant in the suit for “arresting her for no cause.”

“Hannah was arrested, booked and on the night she should have been celebrating the end of her treatment, she was locked up in Jail East,” reports WREG.

“Here we were with nowhere to go, not even a toothbrush, our bags had gone to Chattanooga,” Shirley said.

TSA did not comment on the case, but referred travelers with special accommodations to call their TSA Cares hotline. The Cohens’ are asking for $100,000 in damages.

SOURCE - WREG

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Deaf Customer Upset With McDonalds Drive-Thru

Deaf customer who is upset with McDonald's over treatment in Nebraska.

COLUMBUS, NEB -- A clash between a customer and the company: the video captured at a Columbus, Nebraska drive-through went viral recently.

Just two hours into the New Year, Jonathan Ramos arrived at the McDonald's drive-through window. His frustration in trying to place an order is evident in the use of his car horn, something, he himself, doesn't hear. It struck a nerve with one of the employees.

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Video captured an employee’s response: "You can leave or I'm going to call police. Do you get that one?"

Ramos has been in Columbus for less than a year and has ordered at the McDonald’s before. He’s Deaf. Chicken pox took his hearing when he was a little boy. He doesn't read lips.

After exchanging texts and emails, WOWT 6 News met with Ramos outside the restaurant. We used a legal pad to write down any follow-up questions and answers during the interview.

He said he wanted to order a #9 - 3 or 5 piece Chicken Selects. He explained he usually types the information on his phone and then shows the order to the employee.

Because of his disability, he felt the workers were ignoring him by leaving the window.

After this exchange, Ramos said the employees need a serious lesson in dealing with hearing- impaired customers.

The owners of this McDonald's told WOWT it was a matter of misunderstanding and miscommunication. They said that earlier in the video when workers left the window on New Year's Day, they weren't discriminating against Jonathan, but getting a pen and paper to get the order.

From Jonathan Ramos' cellphone video, workers wrote this note: "You need to leave or we will call the police."

Employees did call police, saying that he refused to move forward in the drive through.

The owners tell WOWT 6 News that his minute-long video is only part of the story; that their own driver-though security cameras paint a different picture of Ramos disrupting a busy drive-through by honking his horn for nine minutes before turning his own video recorder on. Ramos disputes that account.

When asked if he thought it was all a misunderstanding, Ramos shrugged his shoulders. Ramos went on to explain that there’s no excuse for how he was treated. He plans to sue for discrimination.

I, Jonathan, am he declared sue to McDonald's Columbus, Nebraska.

For the restaurant's part, owners admit tempers flared but that neither side communicated well. They said Deaf customers usually bypass the speaker and go straight to the window to hand them a piece of paper with the order.

After the incident, the McDonald’s now keeps a pad and pen near the drive-through window in order to better communicate with the Deaf community.

Ramos hopes he's opened some eyes for every worker when it comes to dealing with those with a disability. He wishes more drive-through restaurants would add cameras near the ordering speaker so the Deaf community could easier communicate with the employees.

The McDonald's owners in Columbus say Jonathan Ramos is welcome at the restaurant any time.

SOURCE - WOWT

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Deaf Canadian Schools In Lawsuit Alleging Abuse

Deaf News: Canadian schools for the Deaf facing lawsuit alleging abuse.

HALIFAX -- A Halifax law firm says it has filed a statement of claim in Nova Scotia Supreme Court alleging systemic sexual, physical, and mental abuse against Deaf children who attended two segregated residential schools in the province.

Lawyer Ray Wagner says Wednesday's move is an important step in a proposed class action lawsuit that still needs to be certified by a judge before proceeding to trial.

The schools named in the claim are the School for the Deaf in Halifax and the Interprovincial School for the Education of the Deaf in Amherst.

The Nova Scotia government has also been named as a defendant in allegations that have not been proven in court.

The claim alleges the province, which was responsible for the operation and oversight of the institutions, chose not to properly investigate or stop the abuse and mistreatment of the children, and that its actions constitute negligence and breach of fiduciary duty.

The law firm says that to date it has been contacted by over 150 former students of the two schools.

SOURCE - CBC News

Another class action was proposed in 2010 by Merchant Law group of Saskatchewan. Two other men were named as lead plaintiffs in that action. But there's no indication it has proceeded beyond the initial filing.

60 people signed up.

There have also been criminal allegations against staff at the schools over the years.

Wagner said a lot of people have already expressed interest in joining this proposed class action.

"We held a town hall meeting at the Halifax library where there were approximately 80 people had attended to listen to what we were saying and proposing with a class action," Wagner told CBC News.

"And already at this early stage we have 60 people that have signed up."

Wagner's firm also a multi-million dollar settlement in the Home for Coloured Children case.

"We're hearing the same stories, the same narrative," Wagner said. "It is a very common experience, both by people in the school for the Deaf and the Nova Scotia Home for Coloured children."

Wagner said people wanting to join the lawsuit over the schools for the Deaf will have to be patient. He said the suit must wait two months before the next step is taken, and he predicts any litigation is still many months away.

SOURCE - CBC News

Class action lawsuit alleges abuse at Ontario schools for the Deaf.

Four provincial schools for the Deaf named in $325-million lawsuit.

TORONTO -- A Toronto man alleges he was abused for years at Ontario schools for the Deaf and has launched a class action lawsuit on behalf of other former students against the provincial government.

The statement of claim, filed Monday in Ontario Superior Court of Justice, alleges sexual, physical and mental abuse at four provincially run schools for the Deaf over the course of decades.

None of the allegations have been proven in court.

Christopher Welsh, in his statment of claim, accuses the province of negligence in the establishment, funding, operation, management and supervision of schools in Ottawa, London, Belleville and Milton.

"Students have suffered sexual, physical and emotional abuse at the hands of teachers, residence counsellors, other students and employees of the schools," reads the statement of claim.

A spokesman for the province's Ministry of Education would not comment on the case as it is before the courts, but said the current government believes every child deserves high-quality education and a supportive learning environment.

"Over the years, we have been committed to ensuring students in our schools have access to the supports and resources they need to succeed," said Gary Wheeler. "This includes our most vulnerable students."

Welsh went to two of the schools named in the class-action suit -- Ernest C. Drury School for the Deaf in Milton, Ont., where he lived from the time he was five years old in 1964, followed by Robarts School for the Deaf in London, Ont., according to the claim.

He said he was forced to wear hearing aids and was repeatedly struck across his ears, leaving him bloodied and in pain.

'Form of punishment'

Welsh's claim also alleges he was hit with rolled up magazines across his hands and beaten with a stick and belt by teachers as "a form of punishment" for using sign language instead of speech when conversing with other students.

He alleges teachers and counsellors often snuck up behind him, taking advantage of his hearing problems, and would grab him at the urinal and slam him into a wall or rip the chair out from under him as he was sat doing homework.

Later, when he attended the Robarts School for the Deaf, the abuse continued, according to the claim.

A counsellor at Robarts, wearing leather boots with pointed toes, repeatedly ambushed Welsh and kicked him in the buttocks, leaving him bruised and in pain when sitting. The counsellor did the same thing to other students, the claim alleges.

Teachers and staff often called him "Deaf and Dumb."

The statement of claim suggests Welsh was not alone.

"Hundreds, if not thousands" of students may have been affected, said Welsh's lawyer, Robert Gain, with the firm Koskie Minsky.

Teachers hit students in the mouth to teach them how to talk, the claim charges.

If students didn't use speech to communicate, teachers would "forcefully hold students' arms and restrain them" so they couldn't use sign language.

The statement of claim alleges counsellors took advantage of the students' hearing problems by sneaking up, often under their beds, to grab their feet and pull them down. Other students would have to lie face down on their beds as counsellors spanked them repeatedly, causing injuries in many cases, according to the claim.

Gain said he has spoken with other survivors who shared similar stories of alleged abuse. Two other schools, Belleville's Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf and Ottawa's Centre Jules-Leger in Ottawa have also been named in the lawsuit.

Gain said Welsh "wanted to bring this case forward and shine a light on the problem so that others would have access to justice and could have their stories heard and the province held responsible and accountable for the misconduct."

"The province certainly had a duty to have proper procedures and oversight and they failed to live up to their obligations to these vulnerable students," he said, adding he believes there may be more former students who want to share their stories.

Gain said the next step is to seek certification -- the court's permission -- to continue the case. The lawsuit is seeking $325 million in damages.

SOURCE - CBC News

This madness must be stopped immediately!

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Drive-Thru McDonalds Discrimination Deaf Driver

Declared lawsuit for discrimination of Deaf driver going through a drive thru at a McDonald's in Nebraska.

COLUMBUS, NE -- Here is the video with hardcoded subtitles with what is being heard for the Deaf people to understand what is being said. Hearing people are welcome to verify or correct what is being shown.

This is a video captured by Jonathan Ramos as he made a drive through at a McDonalds located in Columbus, Nebraska during January 2nd. He is Deaf and wanted to make an order.

Normally Deaf people would drive past the speakers straight to the window then hand over a written note or display the order off the screen of a smartphone. The cashier would put in the order for the next window to deliver the order.

Jonathan says that prior to the recording, he displayed his order on his phone to the window then begun the recording after this person has not returned to the window after a while. He has stated that there were problems between him and that particular McDonald since last June.

After the end of the video, a police officer appeared and issued a ticket to Jonathan and warned him that he is not to be allowed to return to McDonald or be cited for trespassing.

In a way, it is a discrimination because Jonathan is being singled out as someone who is Deaf. It does appear in this video that the employees were being extremely rude to a Deaf person by yelling at him while being aware that the driver is deaf.

I, Jonathan, am he declared sue to McDonald's Columbus, Nebraska.

If it is proven that Jonathan has been disruptive (as not shown in the video) before the recording begun, then he is at fault and is treated as someone who is being disruptive to a private property and it was within the location's rights to refuse service and have the police to escort this person away.

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Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Denying Interpreter

WATCH [CC] - Deaf woman sues NYPD for denying sign language interpreter for nearly 24 hours after she was arrested, locked up.

NEW YORK CITY -- A Deaf woman who is also speech-impaired has sued the New York City Police Department for denying her a sign language interpreter for nearly 24 hours after she was arrested and locked up overnight, according to papers filed in Manhattan Federal Court.

Opal Gordon was arrested Sept. 21 as she left Manhattan Family Court for allegedly violating an order of protection. She was at court for a custody case about her daughter.

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Gordon, of Manhattan, who is “profoundly Deaf and speech-impaired,” said cops didn’t tell her why she had been arrested nor did they provide her with an interpreter. They also didn’t read her Miranda rights, she said.

Police brought Gordon, 53, to the 45th Precinct stationhouse in the Bronx and held her there for two hours, she said. “The boss who runs the precinct signed to me and asked if I am Deaf. I said ‘Yes,’” she told the Daily News. But none of the officers called for a sign language interpreter or gave her anything that would help her communicate with them, she said.

“Not even a piece of paper,” Gordon added.

The officers brought her to a holding cell in Bronx Central Booking and she was held overnight, according to her lawsuit. Gordon claims she repeatedly tried to communicate her need for a sign language interpreter but was ignored.

“No one would listen to me,” she said.

It took the NYPD 21 hours to get a sign language interpreter to help Gordon, her lawsuit said.

The city’s Administration for Children’s Services visited Gordon’s home in October as part of its Manhattan Family Court case. Even though ACS knew Gordon was Deaf, the agency didn’t bring an interpreter upsetting Gordon because the visit, part of a court-ordered investigation, could affect her custody case.

“This is nothing new for the city,” said Gordon’s lawyers Eric Baum and Andrew Rozynski, who represent many Deaf clients.

Deaf Woman Sues NYPD For Wrongly Arrested

Their law firm said the NYPD has a 2009 consent decree with the Justice Department to improve its treatment of the Deaf community. But the city and the NYPD continue to violate the civil rights of Deaf people, according to the lawyers.

The city Law Department didn’t comment on the pending litigation. “We will review the suit and respond accordingly once we are served,” a spokesman said. SOURCE - NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

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NAD and Deaf Parents Sues Tennessee Hospital

WATCH [CC] - Lawsuit: The National Association of the Deaf suing Tennessee hospital didn't meet Deaf parents' needs.

JOHNSON CITY, TN -- ABC NEWS: A Deaf couple says a Tennessee hospital discriminated against them by failing to provide a qualified sign language interpreter while their 21-year-old daughter was dying of cancer.

Chris and Donna Cantrell's federal lawsuit against Mountain States Health Alliance in Johnson City was filed Wednesday by Disability Rights Tennessee and the National Association of the Deaf.

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The organizations say the Johnson City Medical Center refused to provide qualified sign language interpreters to allow the couple from Wise, Virginia, to participate in their daughter's care during the six months before Sydnei Cantrell died on May 19.

"(The couple) watched their daughter suffer from serious health conditions ... without ever receiving a full explanation of what was happening to their daughter," the lawsuit said. "(Donna) Cantrell saw her daughter burst into tears but had no idea why she was crying. Because her daughter was too upset to explain, (she) did not learn that her daughter was dying until much later."

The hospital provided a person to facilitate communications on fewer than five occasions, but the person was not qualified to act as an interpreter and didn't sign clearly enough, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit asks a judge to order Mountain States to develop a nondiscrimination policy requiring the provision of qualified sign language interpreters, and to train medical staff on compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The lawsuit also asks for unspecified compensatory damages and attorneys' fees.

Mountain States spokeswoman Teresa Hicks declined to comment, citing patient confidentiality requirements.

SOURCE - ABC News

Deaf Wrestler Sues Over Interpreter Rules

WATCH [CC] - A high school wrestler who is Deaf is suing MHSAA to have an interpreter with him on the mat.

DETROIT -- A Royal Oak High School wrestler who is Deaf has filed a lawsuit against the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

The senior at Royal Oak High School says he is Deaf, and that shouldn’t be a problem. It has become one during meets because the MHSAA is restricting his use of sign language interpreters.

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“It is not fair,” said Ellis Kempf, of the rule.

Kemp says at meets sponsored by his school his sign language interpreter is allowed to move around the outside of the wrestling mat. At MHSAA sponsored meets that is not allowed. The MHSAA says the interpreter must be in Kempf’s coach’s designated corner. “That’s not going to work. I can’t see,” said Kempf.

“They are saying Ellis can have an interpreter he can’t see. He can have an interpreter if the interpreter stands behind his back. That does Ellis no good,” said Attorney Jason Turkish.

So why does the MHSAA have this rule?

The MHSAA says it is for the safety of interpreters. At tournaments there are often several wrestling mats lined up next to each other. While it is rare for wrestlers to go outside the boundaries and collide with each other as an official can stop the action, the MHSAA says an interpreter circling the mat likely would not see competitors from another mat coming toward her or him.

"The MHSAA allows and always has allowed interpreters for the Deaf in wrestling,” said Geoff Kimmerly, an MHSAA spokesperson. "This student has been competing in high school wrestling with the aid of an interpreter for three seasons. There are some limitations on where interpreters can move during competition, especially at large tournaments with multiple mats in close proximity, so the interpreter does not get in the way of coaches, officials and competitors. This is a safety concern. These accommodations have been used for other Deaf wrestlers without problems in the past."

Ellis says the only person getting hurt is him. He points to the fact his record shows he is more likely to win wrestling tournaments that allow sign language interpreters.

“There have been times I lost first place because I didn’t know what was going on,” said Ellis.

SOURCE - WXYZ

Deaf Man Jailed Without Interpreter, Wins Case

Deaf News: Deaf man jailed without sign language translator wins case against District of Columbia jail.

WASHINGTON -- A Deaf man who was jailed for 51 days without a sign language translator - left unable to communicate with prison doctors, his counselor, his teachers and other inmates - has won a discrimination case against the District of Columbia.

William Pierce is profoundly Deaf and communicates with sign language. After he pleaded guilty to a simple assault charge stemming from a domestic dispute, he was sentenced to the D.C. Correctional Treatment Facility, which is operated by Corrections Corporation of America.

The jail assumed that "lip-reading and exchanging written notes would suffice," and did not provide a translator, the court found.

"They figuratively shrugged and effectively sat on their hands," the court's decision read. Pierce felt isolated and confused by what was happening in jail, he said in court filings.

The court found that the District and CCA had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as the 1973 Rehabilitation Act.

“I am very pleased with Judge Jackson’s decision to find that the District of Columbia violated my rights as a Deaf man and a human being,” Pierce said, through an interpreter, in an American Civil Liberties Union press release.

“Video phones and interpreters are critical for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing inmates to have access to the same opportunities as other inmates," Pierce said. "Unfortunately, even with this decision, the denial of service and adequate access continues... Read The Full Story.

Deaf Pregnant Woman Sues Florida Hospital

WATCH: Deaf woman suing hospital for no interpeter in delivery room.

BOYNTON BEACH -- Margaret Weiss is due to have her second child in less than a month. The Boynton Beach mother is Deaf and wants a real life interpreter in the delivery room with her, but she says her hospital is refusing to provide that.

"They're discriminating against me," explained Weiss, with the help of a certified sign language interpreter. She explained the fear she has about going into the delivery room at Bethesda Hospital. "It's really serious. What if there was something life-threatening that happened during the delivery?" said Weiss.

Weiss has filed a lawsuit against Bethesda for denying her request for a live interpreter to be in the room with her. The hospital provides the hearing impaired with VRIs or Video Remote Interpreting.

Weiss says this is not effective communication for a woman giving birth and ultimately a violation of the Americans Disabilities Act.

"No one can sit there in labor and just watch a fixed screen," said Weiss. "You can't do that. It's much better to have a live interpreter that's mobile and can move around. It's a lot more comfortable. They can lean over. They can get in a different spot." Weiss says on top that, in her experience, the VRIs do not work all the time.

Weiss said she had to go to Boca Raton to deliver her first daughter in order to have a live interpreter... Read The Full Story

Deaf Girl's Family Sues Cochlear Ear Implants For $7.25M

Louisville jury punishes company with $7.25 million verdict for selling Meade County girl defective ear implants that shocked her.

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky -- An electrical short caused an 8-year-old girl to be thrown to the ground, vomiting and convulsing. The shocks happened two more times until the device was disconnected. Born Deaf, Breanna Sadler of Vine Grove, Ky., had a cochlear ear device implanted in her head in 2006, when she was 4 years old. Four years later, an electrical short from the device shocked her so violently that she was thrown to the ground, vomiting and convulsing.

After she was shocked two more times, the device had to be removed from her skull and replaced with a competitor’s model in an open-head surgery that took more than seven hours.

Breanna’s parents sued the manufacturer, Advance Bionics of Valencia, Calif., accusing the company of continuing to sell the device after executives knew it was leaking and defective. On Tuesday a U.S. District Court jury in Louisville agreed, awarding Breanna, now 11, and her parents $7.25 million in damages.

In the first of about 40 lawsuits filed nationally to go to trial, the jury said the company should pay $6.25 million in punitive damages alone for recklessly disregarding patient safety.

The Sadlers’ lawyers presented evidence that Advance Bionics executives delayed disclosing the defect so they could sell more devices and get more money when the company was sold. They “chose to ignore risks and focus on profits,” the attorneys said in a brief.

About 4,000 of the devices have been implanted worldwide, and about 1,000 have failed, according to lead plaintiff’s counsel Tim Edwards, who estimated that dozens of patients in the Louisville area are “walking around with the devices in their head that have failed or will fail.”... Reaf The Full Story.

Advanced Bionics HiResolution Bionic Ear System:

LOUISVILLE, KY -- A federal jury has awarded $7.25 million in damages to an 11-year-old girl who suffered severe electric shocks from a defective cochlear-ear implant that has been inserted in 4,000 people most of Deaf children.

Born Deaf, Breanna Sadler of Vine Grove, Ky., had a cochlear ear device implanted in her head in 2006, when she was 4 years old. Four years later, an electrical short shocked her so violently that she was thrown to the ground, vomiting and convulsing.

After she was shocked two more times, the device had to be removed from her skull and replaced with a competitor’s model in an open-head surgery that took more than seven hours.

Her parents sued the manufacturer, Advance Bionics of Valencia, Calif., and on Tuesday a U.S. District Court jury here awarded Breanna, now 11, and her parents the money.

In the first of about 40 lawsuits filed nationally to go to trial, the jury said the company should pay $6.25 million in punitive damages alone for recklessly disregarding patient safety by continuing to sell the device after company officials knew it was leaking and defective.

The Sadlers’ lawyers presented evidence that Advance Bionics executives delayed disclosing the defect so they could sell more devices and get more money when the company was sold. They ” chose to ignore risks and focus on profits,” the lawyers said in a brief.

About 4,000 of the devices have been implanted worldwide, and about 1,000 have failed, according to lead plaintiff’s counsel Tim Edwards... Read The Full Story.

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