Disability Law

You may have heard of some high-profile names associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), such as Casey Martin, the professional golfer who won the right to play on the PGA Tour with a golf cart. But there are many more faces behind the ADA, and many more people living with disabilities - over 43 million Americans, to be exact.

The ADA was enacted in 1990 to protect these individuals from discrimination. It prohibits places of public accommodation - such as hotels, restaurants, movie theaters, gas stations, grocery stores, offices, sports stadiums and even the PGA Tour, to name a few examples - from discriminating against individuals with one or more disabilities.

More specifically, Title III of the ADA provides that "no individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations of any person who owns, leases or leases to, or operates a place of public accommodation."

At Touhy & Touhy Ltd., we represent individuals and classes of people in ADA "disability access" cases from across the country. We help people who are frustrated and fed up with businesses that refuse to comply with the ADA.

Common examples of ADA public accommodation non-compliance include the failure of businesses to provide:

• wheelchair lifts;
  
• access to restroom facilities;
  
• wheelchair ramps and doorways;
  
• parking spaces for the disabled; and
  
• alarms and other safety devices.

1. force businesses to remove barriers to the disabled so that they may enjoy the same benefits as people without disabilities;
2. obtain compensation for the disabled who have suffered injury, embarrassment or humiliation due to barriers at places of public accommodation; and
3. promote the construction of reasonable accommodations and business compliance with the ADA.