|
Risk Management |
|
customer
lost her balance and fell in a toilet stall, which was not large enough to
accommodate her walker. The plaintiff
broke her neck, causing her to become quadriplegic, meaning that she lost the
use of her limbs. She has been forced
to live in a nursing home. The
U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit, ruled that this was “negligence per se”
under Georgia state law, entitling the plaintiff to monetary damages. The Sixth Circuit held that the ADA
implicitly provides “a cause of action under state law…” when the ADA is
violated. The ADA has no provisions
that bar using it as a basis for a state action. At least in the Sixth Circuit, a claim of
negligence per se may now be brought any time a disabled person is injured
because a place of business (such as a retail store) does not comply with the
ADA. The case is being heard again in
district court, but it is certain that in Federal court a new day is dawning
for the traditional slip and fall case. The
decision relieves personal injury lawyers of having to prove that a
plaintiff’s injury was “foreseeable”.
If your facility has not performed “readily-achievable” barrier
removal, you may now be vulnerable to a negligence suit. Facility managers must now factor ADA
compliance into their risk management equations. Information
pertaining to the WalMart case discussed above can be obtained at :
http://laws.findlaw.com/6th/990031p.html
|
|
ADA Compliance Is Now a Risk Management Issue The
traditional slip and fall case has a new face. A WalMart store in Georgia lost the appeal
of a negligence suit because a rest room did not comply with the
accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA). A
74-year old |
|
Accessibility Development Associates, Inc. |
|
Accessibility Related Services |
|
Representative Client Lists |
|
Credentials & Staff Bios |
|
Articles |
|
Resources |
