Doctors Agree to Provide Interpreting Services for Deaf Family Members

A couple facing their first pregnancy is going through a frightening and vulnerable time, particularly when the pregnancy is high risk. For a couple in Oregon, the situation became even more difficult when their doctor refused to provide a qualified sign language interpreter for effective communication.

Approximately seven months into the mother's first pregnancy, the last thing the hearing mother-to-be and the deaf father-to-be were thinking about was discrimination based on disability. In July of 1998, tests on their unborn child revealed a congenital heart condition. The couple's obstetrician sent them to an Oregon doctor, Dr. Merrill of Perinatal Associates, P.C., who specializes in high-risk pregnancies.

When the couple contacted Dr. Merrill's office to make an appointment, they requested that an interpreter be provided so that the father-to-be could communicate with Dr. Merrill. The doctor, however, refused to provide an interpreter.

On behalf of the young couple and the Oregon Association of the Deaf, the NAD Law Center and Dennis Steinman, an Oregon attorney, filed suit against Dr. Merrill and Perinatal Associates, P.C. alleging discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and state law. The United States Department of Justice intervened in the lawsuit.

In November, all of the parties entered into a consent judgement ending the lawsuit. Dr. Merrill and Perinatal Associates agreed to pay the young couple $25,000 and to adopt a policy for effective communication. This policy provides that deaf patients and their companions will be offered auxiliary aids and services at no charge. In addition, patients who are deaf and their associates or family members will be given notice of this policy.

The defendants also agreed to provide a mandatory, in-service training to all of its staff members to make sure that they are aware of and complying with the new policy.

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504, doctors are obligated to provide auxiliary aids and services not just to the patients with disabilities, but also to family members with disabilities.

Attorneys from the NAD Law Center are available to give seminars and workshops about the legal rights of people who are deaf and hard of hearing and other related topics.