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NEUROSURGERY GROUP PAYS $50,000 TO SETTLE HIV

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A prominent group of neurosurgeons in Tulsa, Oklahoma, can no longer refuse surgical services to people with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and will pay $50,000 in compensation and fines under an agreement filed today by the Justice Department. The agreement resolves a lawsuit that alleged that Neurological Surgery Inc. (NSI), a consortium of privately practicing neurosurgeons, discriminated against an individual with HIV disease in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Tulsa, Oklahoma, alleged that one of NSI's neurosurgeons refused to provide medical services to an individual because of the individual's HIV disease. The agreement, which is subject to approval by the court, prohibits NSI from discriminating against any person on the basis of disability, including HIV disease or AIDS. Additionally, NSI must provide the complainant with monetary compensation in the amount of $40,000.00, and will pay a $10,000.00 civil penalty to the United States. The agreement requires NSI to adopt a policy of nondiscrimination against persons who have HIV disease or AIDS, and the neurosurgeon who was alleged to have discriminated will attend training concerning the medical treatment of persons with HIV disease and AIDS and infection control in the workplace. "The Department of Justice will not stand idly by when doctors refuse medical services, including surgery to people with HIV disease," said Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Bill Lann Lee. "A discriminatory refusal of medical care is especially egregious where, as here, the refusal affects a population so dependent on the availability of medical services."

The Justice Department's suit was triggered by a complaint filed with the Department in January, 1998. The complainant, who had a back condition and was referred to the neurosurgeon for possible surgery, alleged that upon learning of his HIV disease, the neurosurgeon refused to provide him with any further medical services, including surgical treatment, pursuant to his policy of refusing medical treatment to individuals with HIV disease.

The ADA requires that public accommodations, such as doctors' offices, provide equal opportunity to individuals with disabilities, including individuals with HIV disease or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), to participate in and benefit from the goods and services that they offer. In particular, the ADA prohibits public accommodations from following a blanket policy of discrimination against a class of individuals on the basis of disability.

Those interested in finding out more about the ADA can call the Department's toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301, (800) 514-0383 (TDD) or access the ADA Home Page on the World Wide Web at: