Deaf Child is Third to Sue Maryland Hospital for Discrimination

Latia Falls, an eight-year-old deaf child, and her mother Toschia Falls, filed a lawsuit against Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, Maryland, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other civil rights laws on Thursday, May 8, 1997, in federal district court, alleging that the hospital discriminated against Latia on the basis of her deafness by refusing to provide sign language interpreter services to enable her to understand what was happening to her during her five-day stay at the hospital.

On Christmas Day, 1996, Latia was brought to the emergency room at Prince George's Hospital Center by her mother after she became ill. Her mother immediately informed hospital staff that a sign language interpreter was necessary for hospital personnel to communicate effectively with Latia, who is deaf. But the hospital never provided an interpreter for Latia -- either in the emergency room or at any other time during her five-day stay, despite her mother's repeated requests. Without a means to communicate and understand why she was feeling sick and what was going to happen to her, Latia became frightened, anxious and withdrawn.

In the complaint, Latia and Toschia Falls, represented by Laura Rovner and Marc Charmatz of the National Association of the Deaf Law Center and Lisel Loy and Douglas Parker of the Institute for Public Representation at Georgetown University Law Center, allege that Prince George's Hospital Center's failure to provide interpreter services for Latia discriminates against her on the basis of her deafness in violation of Title II of the ADA and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Under these statutes, state and local government entities and places that receive federal funds, including hospitals, must provide auxiliary aids and services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to ensure effective communication between the parties.

"Unfortunately, this is not the first time that Prince George's Hospital Center has been the subject of charges of discrimination against deaf people. It's outrageous that this keeps happening," stated Lisel Loy, attorney for Falls. In 1993, the Office of Civil Rights of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a letter of finding against the hospital for various violations of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. That finding was issued after two deaf people filed complaints against the hospital for failing to provide them with sign language interpreter services during hospital visits. Following the letter of finding, the hospital agreed to improve its procedures for providing sign language interpreter services for deaf patients.

By 1995, however, Prince George's Hospital Center had still not resolved its problems with providing sign language interpreter services to deaf patients. In April of 1995, two other deaf people were treated for serious medical conditions at the hospital without sign language interpreter services. James Proctor was brought to the hospital following a motorcycle accident. "His leg was amputated below the knee, but he didn't know that for almost a week after the surgery because the hospital didn't make an interpreter available to him," said Loy. Similarly, Yvette Ward, another deaf patient, was unable to communicate with hospital staff during multiple visits for problems related to her pregnancy, and ultimately, her miscarriage. Both Proctor and Ward have also filed civil rights lawsuits against the hospital in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland