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PORTLAND, OREGON MEDICAL PRACTICE SETTLES ALLEGATIONS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- An Oregon obstetrics practice will now provide sign language interpreters to patients and their partners whenever either person is deaf, under an agreement reached today with the Justice Department.

The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Portland, resolves allegations that Perinatal Associates, P.C. violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it refused to provide an interpreter to an expectant father who was deaf. The ADA requires that private doctors take appropriate steps to ensure effective communication with patients and their partners unless doing so would result in an undue burden.

The Justice Department became involved in this case in August 1999, when it joined a private lawsuit filed by Jennifer Drew and Brian Morace and the Oregon Association of the Deaf. Drew and Morace filed their lawsuit after Perinatal Associates informed them they would not provide a sign language interpreter to Morace, who is deaf, because he was not the primary patient. Today's case was settled through voluntary alternative dispute resolution.

"Expectant mothers and fathers with disabilities must have the same opportunity to communicate with the doctor and staff as other patients do," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "An interpreter is necessary for an effective discussion of the parents' medical history, possible complications for the mother or the baby, and types of care that might be needed. This is one of the primary purposes of the ADA."

As a result of the agreement, Perinatal Associates will:

• institute a policy of providing sign language interpreters for deaf patients or deaf partners in order to ensure effective communication;

• provide training for doctors and staff on the obligations of the ADA; and,

• provide compensation for the couple of $25,000 in monetary relief.

"No doctor should exclude or otherwise deny equal services to a person based upon disability or deny equal services to a person based upon his or her relationship or association with a person with a disability," says United States Attorney Kristine Olson. "Preventing discrimination by health care providers against patients based upon the patient's association with a person known to have a disability is a matter of public importance."