District of Columbia Sued Over Unsafe Crosswalks for Blind Pedestrians – Law Blog

Pedestrian and car accidents typically happen when a driver is just not paying consideration and/or if a pedestrian is careless. Sometimes, the designers of the intersection are additionally blamed, however proving that roads are a design flaw might be an uphill problem. Nonetheless, a brand new lawsuit seeks to make use of incapacity legal guidelines to advertise pedestrian security.   

Mary Spitzer, 81 years previous, was crossing the road in her electrical scooter in downtown DC when a truck missed a cease signal and struck her. Spitzer was taken to Ascension Sacred Coronary heart Bay Hospital, the place she handed away.

Spitzer lived in a tower that served as a house to seniors and disabled residents. Aged residents can typically be seen scooting round that portion of downtown. Neighbors contend that the intersection was recognized to be harmful, together with by Spitzer herself. The neighbors have organized a protest and argue that the cease indicators of the four-way cease are hidden by bushes or mild poles. Two months earlier, 53-year-old Donna Santiago was additionally killed after being struck by a automotive.

In Could 2025, the DC Council of the Blind and 5 particular person plaintiffs filed a category motion in opposition to the District of Columbia. The lawsuit alleges that systemic boundaries stop blind and low imaginative and prescient pedestrians from safely crossing the overwhelming majority of signalized intersections within the metropolis. Though the District had put in visible pedestrian alerts at about 1,600 intersections to make sure pedestrian security, solely a fraction of these intersections have gadgets with audio or tactile cues for the visually impaired. Intersections that are geared up with such alerts allegedly have set up or upkeep points.

Incapacity Legislation Necessities

Most discrimination legal guidelines forbid employers or companies from taking an motion that outcomes in unlawful discrimination in opposition to an individual. Legal guidelines in opposition to intercourse or gender discrimination require that companies deal with everybody equally, which implies offering the identical companies or employment advantages to everybody no matter their intercourse or gender. Legal guidelines in opposition to racial discrimination require that companies deal with everybody equally no matter race. In most cases, the corporate is barely forbidden from taking an motion moderately than having to actively handle inequality.  

Nonetheless, there are subsets of discrimination legal guidelines that require companies to affirmatively present companies underneath sure circumstances. Below the Individuals with Disabilities Act, companies are required to offer cheap lodging for disabled prospects. An lodging is cheap if it may be applied with out inflicting undue hardship for the enterprise.

A “cheap lodging” doesn’t must be one particular adjustment. The regulation encourages companies and employers to compromise with these who’re impaired to give you an inexpensive resolution.

Failure to Accommodate Does Not All the time End in Damage

Cities ought to be certain that their intersections are secure for everybody. Outfitting 1,600 intersections with audio alerts can be considerably time-consuming and doubtlessly expensive, however saving lives is well worth the cash.

Nonetheless, Spitzer’s loss of life was arguably not brought on by the dearth of audio alerts. The motive force who hit her allegedly missed a cease signal. Even when the intersection lacked the required audio alerts to warn a blind pedestrian, it was the unsafe truck driver who was in the end accountable.

Ought to I Communicate With a Lawyer for Assist With ADA Points?

In case you have any questions on incapacity discrimination, whether or not you’re an worker, an applicant, or an employer, it’s greatest to hunt recommendation from a discrimination lawyer. A discrimination lawyer can advise you concerning the specifics of the ADA, decide if there are any cheap lodging that ought to be made, and symbolize you in court docket.