LOS ANGELES – A paraplegic alleges a Paramount health care facility's doors were too narrow for his wheelchair and that he had to have a blood extraction done in a hallway.
Hector Lara Ramirez filed a complaint on April 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against Paramount General Hospital Co., PGHC Inc. and Manuel F. Mendoza, M.D. Inc., over alleged violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act and Unruh Civil Rights Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in January 2018, he went to defendants' clinic. He alleges the examination doorway was less than 32 inches wide and his wheelchair would not fit, so his blood extraction was done in a hallway. He alleges the restroom doorway was also too narrow and that he had to go to his car and urinate in a cup for his urine sample.
As a result, Ramirez claims he was deterred from returning and patronizing the clinic because of his knowledge of the barriers that exist.
The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because they allegedly failed to make alterations in such a manner that, to the maximum extent feasible, the altered portions of the facility are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
The plaintiff seeks injunctive relief, actual damages and a statutory minimum of $4,000, reasonable attorney fees, litigation expenses and costs of suit. He is represented by Chris Carson, Ray Ballister Jr., Phyl Grace and Dennis Price of the Center for Disability Access in San Diego.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:18-cv-02986-JFW-AS