Dental clinic to pay $45k to deaf woman who unexpectedly had 7 teeth removed
The Department of Justice announced it has resolved a complaint from a deaf woman who said she did not get an interpreter for an emergency dental treatment and unexpectedly had seven of her teeth removed.
The DOJ said this was a violation of the ADA and that the dental clinic will pay “$45,000 in compensation for the discrimination she suffered.”
The DOJ explained that the deaf woman, who is unidentified, scheduled an appointment with the Dental Speciality Clinic (DSC) in Des Moines, Washington in June 2020. The woman was expecting to have her wisdom teeth removed and possibly one other tooth. The woman asked for an interpreter. DSC told her that it was likely that there wouldn’t be an interpreter available and that they would contact her if there was no interpreter available. The DOJ said DSC never contacted her and when the deaf client arrived for treatment, she was unaware that she agreed to the removal of seven teeth, which caused her “significant physical pain and emotional distress.”
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The DOJ said in addition to the $45,000 in compensation, DSC agrees that it would contract with an interpreting service and post notices that it provides interpreters.
I checked the DSC website and saw a statement in a pop-up window that said it would provide interpreters through a third party depending on their availability.
U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said he hopes that medical and dental providers will “assess and improve their services for those who are deaf and hard of hearing before complaints, such as this one, require federal intervention.”
https://www.dentalspecialityclinic.com/
https://www.yelp.com/biz/dental-speciality-clinic-des-moines