{"id":11220,"date":"2010-07-27T17:33:09","date_gmt":"2010-07-27T22:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=11220"},"modified":"2010-07-27T20:23:29","modified_gmt":"2010-07-28T01:23:29","slug":"deaf-file-suit-against-doctors-state-agency-on-anniversary-of-disability-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/07\/27\/deaf-file-suit-against-doctors-state-agency-on-anniversary-of-disability-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Deaf file suit against doctors, state agency on anniversary of disability law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Deaf file suit against doctors, state agency on anniversary of disability law<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jeremy Roebuck
\nThe Monitor<\/p>\n

McALLEN \u2013 Sergio Ayala is tired of not being heard.<\/p>\n

Deaf from a young age, he has explained to business owners over and over
\nagain that his disability warrants special accommodation, only to be turned
\naway.<\/p>\n

He has repeatedly pleaded with doctors for access to interpreters. He has
\nstruggled at government offices to communicate with hand-written notes. And
\nhe has often had to rely on signing friends to complete the most basic
\ncommercial transactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s me against the whole hearing world,\u201d Ayala said through a
\nsign language interpreter.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, a South Texas legal services group filed lawsuits against the
\nTexas Health and Human Services Commission and two Rio Grande Valley doctors
\nfor allegedly failing to comply with federal law when it comes to dealing
\nwith the deaf.<\/p>\n

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees their right to a
\nsign language interpreter at government agencies or medical offices, full
\ncompliance with that mandate remains spotty two decades after the law was
\npassed, said Corinna Spencer-Scheurich, director of the South Texas Civil
\nRights Project, which is representing the deaf plaintiffs in their suits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no ifs, ands or buts about this,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you need an
\ninterpreter, you\u2019re entitled to one at the business\u2019 expense. Our clients
\nmade repeated requests and were denied.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Adam Schraer, that failure has left his family without food twice in the
\neight years.<\/p>\n

Deaf and reliant government assistance to feed his family, the Brownsville
\nresident has repeatedly asked the Health and Human Services Commission to
\nprovide a sign language interpreter in advance of his periodic food stamp
\neligibility interviews.<\/p>\n

His ability to understand questions from government workers and respond with
\naccurate descriptions about his income and bills on his own determine the
\namount of food assistance he can receive.<\/p>\n

But after allegedly being denied an interpreter on four separate occasions,
\nthe commission revoked Schraer\u2019s food stamp benefits, forcing him and his
\nwife to ration to keep their children from going hungry.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I don\u2019t have my food stamps, my family does not have enough to eat,\u201d he
\nsaid in an affidavit filed with his lawsuit against the agency. \u201cWe have to
\nborrow food and money. We have to eat less and conserve food.\u201d<\/p>\n

A commission spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of Schraer\u2019s
\ncase but said that agency policy requires workers to accommodate those with
\ndocumented disabilities.<\/p>\n

Doctor\u2019s offices in particular pose a problem for the hearing impaired, said
\nBrooke Hernandez, manager of deaf services for the Valley Association of
\nIndependent Living, a group charged with aiding the disabled.<\/p>\n

The most frequent complaints she hears from clients involve them resorting
\nto writing notes or to relying on friends and relatives who know sign
\nlanguage in order to communicate with their physicians. With complex medical
\njargon often involved and privacy issues at stake neither is an acceptable
\nsolution, she said.<\/p>\n

Ayala, of Mission, waited for nearly five hours at his physician\u2019s office
\nearlier this year for an interpreter he was told was on his way. Ultimately,
\nthe man never arrived, and Ayala left without seeing the doctor.<\/p>\n

He eventually returned with a friend who helped translate discussion over an
\n\u201cembarrassing medical issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have any other choice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For others the results can be more serious.<\/p>\n

Rolando Luna requested an interpreter while taking his son to a McAllen
\npediatrician only to be told the office wouldn\u2019t pay since his 9-year-old
\nchild was not deaf.<\/p>\n

His muddled efforts to describe his son\u2019s symptoms through hand-written
\nnotes resulted in a misdiagnosis and the prescription of medicine that made
\nthe child even sicker, Luna claims in his lawsuit.<\/p>\n

Spencer-Scheurich hopes the suits filed Monday will remind all doctors and
\ngovernment offices of their responsibilities to disabled clients. But after
\ndealing with the same problems two decades after promised reform, she
\nrecognizes that change comes slowly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have come a long way in the last 20 years,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we still have
\na long way to go for all people to have fair and equal treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You
\ncan reach him at (956) 587-9377.<\/p>\n

Source:
\nhttp:\/\/www.themonitor.com\/news\/file-41189-agency-law.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Deaf file suit against doctors, state agency on anniversary of disability law Jeremy Roebuck The Monitor McALLEN \u2013 Sergio Ayala is tired of not being heard. Deaf from a young age, he has explained to business owners over and over…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[114,5679,367,5678,163,515,40,5684,117,2495,5683,5681,5680,5682,5677,5686,5676,5675,5687,17,5685],"class_list":["post-11220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-ada","tag-brooke-hernandez","tag-brownsville","tag-corinna-spencer-scheurich","tag-doctor","tag-government","tag-interpreter","tag-jeremy-roebuck","tag-law","tag-mcallen","tag-medicine","tag-misdiagnosis","tag-pediatrician","tag-prescription","tag-rio-grande-valley","tag-rolando-luna","tag-sergio-ayala","tag-south-texas-legal-services","tag-spencer-scheurich","tag-texas","tag-the-monitor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-2UY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17841,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2012\/02\/29\/deaf-day-event-31012-mcallen\/","url_meta":{"origin":11220,"position":0},"title":"Deaf Day Event 3\/10\/12 – McAllen","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"February 29, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf Day Event Hosted by: South Texas Interpreters for the Deaf Join us on Saturday March 10, 2012 1:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. Bill Schupp Park 1300 Zinnia McAllen, Texas Free admission!!! 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There will be various classes, skits, and door prizes. FREE breakfast and lunch will be provided. Attendance is FREE. An offering will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1140,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2007\/01\/30\/4x4-deaf-flag-football-tournament-mcallen-texas-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":11220,"position":3},"title":"4×4 Deaf Flag Football Tournament – McAllen, Texas","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"January 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Reminder 4x4 Deaf Flag Football Tournament Saturday, February 10, 2007 8:30am to 3:00pm Tournament will be located at: Westside Park 1000 South Ware Road McAllen, Texas Cost: Team entry fee: $100.00 (Limits of 6 to 8 player per team) Registration Dates: December 13, 2006 \u2013 February 3, 2007 Game Times:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15658,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/09\/01\/super-saturday-deaf-mcallen\/","url_meta":{"origin":11220,"position":4},"title":"Super Saturday Deaf – McAllen","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 1, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"SUPER SATURDAY DEAF WITH Missionaries Jon and Diane Barr from Silent Word Ministries CONFERENCE Join us for a day of fun, fellowship and learning more about God\u2019s Word. 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