ada Archives - KEYTLaw's Blog

Teen Sues School Because It Won’t Allow Her to Play Basketball with Her Service Dog Carrying Two Oxygen Tanks

Daily Herald: A 17 year old girl wanted to play on a basket ball team while she is connected by a plastic tube to an oxygen tank carried by her service dog. “But her family was told it was ‘not appropriate’ for Jenny to be on the basketball court with her service dog and oxygen tank, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday on Jenny’s behalf by Equip for Equality, a legal advocacy organization.”

If the girl played on the team and a player tripped over the dog or the tube and were injured, who do you think would be sued? Both the girl and the school would be defendants in the lawsuit and the school would probably be liable. Wouldn’t all reasonable people say that having the dog and tube connected to the girl on the court creates a dangerous condition and an accident waiting to happen? Guess what the lawsuit is based on? The Americans with Disabilities Act. Do you think that when Congress passed the ADA, they intended it to give the girl the right to play basketball with her service dog in tow?

9th Circuit Court Rules Against Harkins Theaters & Says Movies Must be Accessible to Hearing & Visually Impaired

Movie ticket prices within the jurisdiction of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will be going up. From the Yuma Sun: “Theater owners have to make special devices available to ensure those with hearing and vision disabilities can enjoy the movies, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by attorneys for the Arizona-based Harkins theater chain that nothing in federal law requires them to purchase and install the necessary equipment. The judges said the kinds of devices at issue here clearly fall within the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.”

When Treating One Worker’s Allergy Sets Off Another’s

The New York Times has an interesting story (“It’s a case of King Solomon meets the Americans With Disabilities Act.”) about what happened when an employer hired a disabled woman whose disability (allegoric paprika) adversely affected the health of another employee. The employer laid off the newly hired disabled person who has filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging that the employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. The story also illustrates one of the unintended consequences of the ADA, i.e, many employers are reluctant to hire the disabled because of the fear of an ADA lawsuit.

Unintended Consequences of the Americans With Disabilities Act

Congress passes laws without any consideration of the unintended consequences of the laws. Magicians and TV journalists Penn & Teller’s video is a shocking eye-opener about the untended consequences of the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it has harmed, rather than helped the disabled. The video also shows the stupidity of the governing class. For example, the ADA requires that all automated teller machines (ATMs) at bank drive-ups must have keys with Braille so that blind drivers can operate the ATMs. Many employers are afraid to hire the handicapped because they are called “walking or rolling lawsuits” because they have special standing and rights to sue.