SAN DIEGO –(Business Wire)–
In a case that reaffirms the right to safe public access for the physically disabled, Casey Gerry announced today that a $1.25 million out-of-court settlement has been reached in a lawsuit involving the country’s longest survivor of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) – a disease in which victims progressively lose muscle control.

Defendants Troon Golf, LLC and The Crosby National Golf Club, LLC agreed to pay more than $1.1 million to Northridge, Calif. resident Marilyn Cooper, 67. The rest of the settlement was paid by Summers/Murphy & Partners, Inc., a landscape architect and Masson and Associates, Inc., an engineering firm.

According to attorney Robert J. Francavilla, a partner with Casey Gerry, his client Marilyn Cooper, who has had ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease – for 36 years, suffered serious injuries after a fall at the exclusive Crosby Estates’ Sports Center in Rancho Santa Fe, just north of San Diego. “While driving her motorized wheelchair toward a family reunion celebration, she toppled down a two-step stairway that blended into the background and created an illusion of a flat surface,” Francavilla said. “The change in elevation lacked signage, visual cues and had rails, and as a result she was unable to see the steps.” To that end, “our legal team was able to prove that the defendants clearly chose aesthetics over safety, and violated the California Building Code and ADA requirements, as well as basic common sense in the design and management of the facility, which serves Crosby Estates, a high end residential community.”

Francavilla said he was able to establish both ADA and building code violations in the design of the facility, as well as demonstrate absence of handicapped access. “What the defendants claimed was adequate handicapped access was actually a dirt path, much like many paths meandering through the complex and clearly not built or marked according to ADA requirements.”

Cooper broke her hip in the fall, and required multiple surgeries to repair her injuries – significantly impacting her already reduced mobility, Francavilla said. The settlement funds will cover medical care and expenses as well as compensate Cooper for the effect the incident will have on her quality of life.

The settlement was reached after a full-day mediation conducted by Thomas Sharkey of Judicate West.
Francavilla says he hopes this settlement will compel facilities operators, architects and designers to place high importance on safe access for the handicapped. According to ADA regulations, “stairs must be clearly visible, and handicap ramps should be very prominently marked and integrated into all buildings frequented by the public.”

Original link: [TMC news]

This is the fifth time.

A business owner went to one of our seminars about six months ago. Saw our presentation on ADA compliance. Heard about

1. the gap between the coverage of the California Building Code and the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act,
2. learned that in the California Civil Code Section 52 and 54 he was liable for 4k worth of damages minimum of affected violations of the ADA

Of course when asked if he was interested in getting our help, he said no. He went back to his store, fixed a few items immediately that he learned from our presentation… and then was several months later sued for 80 thousand dollars worth of damages. He then went and hired us.

Another one of our clients heard our seminar, decided to hire us and then upon having a consultation and an inspection paid for our services. In following up with this client, when asked if they were going to look through the report and start to fix issues they said “No. We don’t need to. We have the report.”

I don’t know what else to say. We have started working with contractors to try and offer inspections and fixes — but in general most of our clients only want us to do the report. This is okay but reports are useless unless you also fix the actual issues! Getting sued is the worst case scenario — most disabled visitors simply won’t go to your store if they can’t get in. The only ones who sue are either extremely frustrated or looking for money.

It’s so unfortunate that it takes a lawsuit to get a perfectly good business to comply, but is that what it takes? Personally I would like to see businesses hire us and let us help them find effective ways to comply. Suing a business doesn’t help that business in any way. In fact, it’s an incredibly hurtful process that doesn’t leave the business in better shape before it was sued.

So avoid lawsuits! It’s many of the very simple things that can get a business in trouble. Most of our clients that have been sued have been sued over parking paint and signage. How expensive is that? Now, maybe not everything can be fixed right away, (like signage or parking paint) but most things can be taken care of eventually. If you can only afford $100 a month for accessibility, or even $50 by all means, budget it! Get it done! Also, look for ADA experts who can tell you what needs to be done and how to remediate that violation so you ARE accessible. It’s painful to see businesses that have done work trying to become accessible and getting it so wrong.

I don’t know what else we can do. We give free seminars, and publish free information… I guess that’s really all we can do.

We are working on putting one of our older education seminars online. In the meantime, stay tuned. I am a little swamped with work so I haven’t had time to write too much on here, but I do have some more updates planned.

In the mean while, here’s an older website about some factoids about the access lawsuit situation in California (which is on the rise, by the by). The website is called ADA Crisis. It’s full of interesting facts, like “Did you know, at least 42% of the ADA/accessibility lawsuits in the U.S. are filed in California?”

Anyway, as always, our contact information if you have any questions: 866 982 3212 and help@ytaccess.com.