Access to Hospital Secured in Settlement with Inova Health System

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs, Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP, the National Association of the Deaf and the U.S. Department of Justice today jointly announced a Consent Decree negotiated with Inova Health System to ensure that Inova Fairfax Hospital will provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services to patients, and patients’ companions, who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Consent Decree was prompted by a complaint from a deaf couple related to communications during the birth and subsequent treatment of their infant son, who was born with serious heart defects.

The Consent Decree ensures effective communication with patients and companions who are deaf or hard of hearing. It requires that hospital personnel provide each individual who may be deaf or hard of hearing with a Deaf or Hard of Hearing Communication Request Form. The Request Form will allow individuals to specify what types of auxiliary aids and services they will require.

Additionally, for patients who stay at the hospital for more than 48 hours, the agreement provides that the patient will be given an interpreter schedule, which documents the date and times that an interpreter will be provided. With a specific schedule in place, the patient and/or companion will now have some expectation as to when he or she will have an interpreter.

Finally, the Consent Decree states that Inova Fairfax Hospital will maintain a level of interpreter continuity by directing its interpreters to educate any replacement interpreters of the patient's condition and medical history, subject to medical privacy laws and requirements, so that communication with the replacement interpreter is easier for the patient and/or companion.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the National Association of the Deaf Law Center and Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. 

"Effective communication in the medical setting is essential for every deaf and hard of hearing patient and their loved ones. This is a basic human right that should never be compromised." said NAD President Bobbie Beth Scoggins. "The NAD is fully committed to making every hospital fully accessible for deaf and hard of hearing individuals."

"Sutherland is proud of its long tradition and commitment to pro bono, including its long standing relationship with the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights" said Mark Wasserman, Sutherland's Managing Partner. "Sutherland's partnership with the Washington Lawyers Committee and the National Association for the Deaf allowed us to effectively combine resources from the private and non-profit sectors to assist the plaintiffs in this case" said Sutherland Partner Lewis Wiener, Plaintiffs' lead counsel. Mr. Wiener praised the Department of Justice and the Hospital for their proactive response to the Plaintiffs' complaints. Mr. Wiener noted further that "the Consent Decree agreed to by the parties puts Inova at the forefront of providing effective communication with the deaf community."

For more information contact:

E. Elaine Gardner, Disability Rights Project Director, Washington Lawyers’ Committee
(202) 319-1000 x 131

Marc Charmatz, National Association of the Deaf
(301) 587-7732