NEW ORLEANS – A deaf senior citizen alleges that a St. Tammany Parish medical facility did not provide her with auxiliary aids and services necessary to effectively communicate with her.
Mary Beth Aquila filed a complaint on June 26 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Paul Van Deventer MD, doing business as Pinnacle Orthopaedics alleging violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Louisiana Human Rights Act and other counts.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff communicates primarily in American Sign Language and sought treatment with Pinnacle Orthopaedics for left knee pain in July 2016. She alleges the defendant did not provide an ASL interpreter even though she requested one.
The plaintiff holds Paul Van Deventer MD and Pinnacle Orthopaedics responsible because the defendants allegedly intentionally discriminated against her with deliberate indifference to her rights and communication needs.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks injunction order for defendant to develop a policy prohibiting discrimination, award for compensatory damages, interest, attorneys’ fees and costs and all other relief that the court finds necessary. She is represented by Andrew D. Bizer, Garret S. DeReus and Marc P. Florman of Bizer & DeReus in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:17-cv-06142