Southern California Permanente Medical Group, headquartered in Pasadena, and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide a qualified sign language interpreter or other appropriate form of assistance to a deaf patient. Separately, a Riverside County doctor has agreed to settle similar claims involving a deaf patient.The Kaiser settlement agreement ensures that individuals with disabilities at its West Los Angeles Medical Center receive appropriate auxiliary aids and services necessary for effective communication. Southern California Permanente Medical Group and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals have agreed to provide equipment and services free of charge to ensure that people who are deaf or hard of hearing have full and equal access to medical appointments, treatments, and emergency visits at this medical center. The complainant alleged he was not provided effective communication on a regular basis during visits to this medical center from 2012 through 2016.
The entities, which fully cooperated with the government’s investigation, have agreed to:
• Provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including qualified interpreters, when necessary to ensure effective communication with patients who are deaf or hard of hearing and their companions;
• Advertise the availability of auxiliary aids and services;
• Designate a diversity coordinator to ensure access to appropriate auxiliary aids and services necessary for effective communication;
• Provide training on auxiliary aids and services, including qualified interpreters, for the diversity coordinator, Medical Center personnel, and telephone operators; and
• Pay compensation to the complainant and civil penalties to the United States.
In a separate matter, Dr. Javier Rios, a Lake Elsinore-based physician, also agreed to comply with the ADA by providing appropriate auxiliary aids and services free of charge so people who are deaf or hard of hearing have full and equal access to appointments and treatment at his office. The settlement resolves allegations that Rios, during more than a dozen appointments from 2016 to 2018, failed to provide such services for a patient who is deaf, telling her instead that she or her insurance company should provide them. The ADA requires providers, not patients, to ensure effective communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Rios fully cooperated with the government’s investigation.
“Communicating with medical professionals not only is a right under federal law, it also can be a matter of life and death,” said United States Attorney Nick Hanna. “My office will take the necessary measures to ensure that health care providers comply with the ADA and provide equal treatment for the deaf and hard of hearing.”
Assistant United States Attorney Acrivi Coromelas of the Civil Division’s Civil Rights Section handled the Kaiser matter. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Nickell, also of the Civil Division’s Civil Rights Section, handled the Rios matter.
Copies of the settlement agreements can be found here and here. For more information on the ADA, please call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TDD) or access the ADA website at http://www.ada.gov.
The claims resolved by the settlements are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
This year marks the ADA’s 30th anniversary. The Department of Justice – including the U.S. Attorney’s Office – plays a central role in advancing the nation’s goal of equal opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. The Justice Department will continue to use its enforcement and technical assistance tools to eliminate unlawful discrimination against people with disabilities.
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