The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) and the Law Offices of Matthew W. Dietz, P.L., filed two complaints in the United States District Court in Miami, Florida, against the City of Hialeah, Florida, and Palmetto General Hospital alleging their failure to provide qualified sign language interpreter services to ensure effective communication with Cynthia Cuevas and Erik Phillips, a deaf couple.
The complaints allege that when Ms. Cuevas was eight-months pregnant, her mother-in-law called the police and reported that the deaf couple was having a verbal dispute and that Ms. Cuevas did not care for herself or her unborn child. Without a sign language interpreter, Hialeah police were unable to communicate effectively with the deaf couple. Instead, the Hialeah police took Ms. Cuevas to Palmetto General Hospital for an involuntary commitment. The psychological evaluation determined that Ms. Cuevas was not a threat to herself or to others.
Two days after her admission to Palmetto General Hospital, Ms. Cuevas gave birth to a healthy baby boy by cesarean section. Five days later, they were discharged from the hospital. The complaint against Palmetto General Hospital alleges that the hospital failed to provide qualified sign language interpreter services to ensure effective communication with the deaf couple during the seven days that Ms. Cuevas was in the hospital.
"Hospitals are required to provide qualified sign language interpreters when necessary to ensure effective communication for appropriate diagnosis, effective treatment, informed consent, quality health care, and discharge information," said Michael Stein, an attorney with the NAD Law and Advocacy Center. According to Matthew Dietz, co-counsel for the deaf couple, "Discrimination against the deaf is systemic in Florida. It is difficult for a person who is deaf to find a doctor or a hospital that is willing to provide a qualified sign language interpreter to ensure effective communication - and it is dangerous for both the medical professional and the patient who is deaf not to have a clear understanding of the medical procedures."
The complaint against the City of Hialeah alleges that, when the deaf couple and their baby left the hospital, they visited the mother-in-law who refused to let the deaf couple take their baby home. The mother-in-law later called the police and reported that Ms. Cuevas wanted to harm herself, the baby, and others. Again without securing a qualified sign language interpreter to ensure effective communication, the Hialeah police took Ms. Cuevas to another hospital for another involuntarily commitment. This psychological evaluation also determined that Ms. Cuevas was not a threat to herself or to others and she was discharged.
The complaint also alleges that the deaf couple received assistance from the Legal Aid Society of Miami to ask the Hialeah police to help them get their baby back from the mother-in-law. Hialeah police refused to return the baby to the deaf couple without a court order because the Hialeah police had transported Ms. Cuevas to the hospital twice for involuntary commitment. During this encounter between the deaf couple, the Hialeah police, and the mother-in-law, the Hialeah police again did not provide qualified sign language interpreter services to ensure effective communication. About three weeks later, the deaf couple was finally able to obtain a court order and was reunited with their baby.
"As this case shows, not communicating effectively with an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing can have disastrous consequences," said Nancy Bloch, NAD Chief Executive Officer. Bloch also said, "Equal access and effective communication are critical when people need to interact with law enforcement. This case demands remedies to ensure that what happened to this family never happens again."
The complaints request the United States District Court to declare that the City of Hialeah and Palmetto General Hospital violated the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and award money damages to Ms. Cuevas and Mr. Phillips. In addition, the complaints allege that the Hialeah police department violated the couple's constitutional rights to due process.
The National Association of the Deaf