Flint-Area Medical Practice to Pay $200,000 and Establish a Victim Fund to Resolve Disability Discrimination Case

FLINT, MI –Flint Neurological Centre P.C. has agreed to pay up to $200,000 and to establish a victim fund to resolve a disability discrimination case that alleged the medical practice violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide auxiliary aids and services required to ensure effective communication with patients and their companions who are deaf or hard of hearing.

In the March 2022 complaint which started this litigation, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan alleged the medical practice had a long history of ADA violations, including a prior investigation by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights (MDCR) that resulted in the practice entering into a 2018 settlement agreement with MDCR that included compensation to a patient.

“Effective communication is paramount for the deaf and hard of hearing, especially in the context of providing medical services,” said Dawn N. Ison, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. “The ADA guarantees that patients who are deaf or hard of hearing have the ability to exchange critical information with medical providers,” she added. These guarantees are a longstanding provision of the ADA, and our office will aggressively enforce the ADA to protect individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.  

Under the terms of the three-year Consent Decree, Flint Neurological Centre, P.C. will pay a total of $150,000 in damages to ten patients and companions. It will also establish a $40,000 victim fund for additional individuals who may have been harmed by its past practices, and it will pay a $10,000 civil monetary penalty to the government. The Consent Decree requires Flint Neurological Centre to adopt a policy statement which notifies patients and their companions of their right to obtain sign language interpreters or other auxiliary aids and services free of charge. The medical practice is also required to train its staff on various topics, including how to provide effective communication to members of the deaf community.

Patients and their companions of Flint Neurological Centre, P.C. who believe that the practice failed to provide them with an effective means of communication may contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine if they are entitled to compensation. They can contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office by calling (313) 226-9151 or sending an email to usamie.civilrights@usdoj.gov.  

The full and fair enforcement of the ADA is a priority of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Disability Rights Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. The Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office was established in 2010 with the mission of prioritizing federal civil rights enforcement. For more information on the Office’s civil rights efforts, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmi/programs/civil-rights.

This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon Ackenhausen, Acting Chief of the Civil Rights Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nedra Campbell, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael El-Zein, and Executive Assistant United States Attorney Luttrell Levingston.