Hearing Loss and the Law
How the law deals with hearing loss.
Our modern world communicates mainly by sound, which means that those of us who have lost some or all of our hearing face significant obstacles in our daily lives, whether on the job, in school, in our social or civic lives, in using the goods and services we buy, and sometimes in getting the medical services we need.
A number of state and federal laws exist to help us. The laws can't restore our hearing, but they can and do require that when it is economicallly and techically possible, we be provided with accommodations, aids and services that will enable us to overcome the barriers imposed by our hearing loss.
Here is what some of those laws provide:
“The right to be free from discrimination because of … any sensory, mental or physical disability … is recognized and declared as a civil right. This right shall include … the right to obtain and hold employment without discrimination (and) the full enjoyment of … any place of public resort, accommodation, assemblage or amusement.”
Washington Law Against Discrimination
“No qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits, services or programs of a public entity.”
Americans With Disabilities Act, Title II
“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 place of public accommodation.”
Americans With Disabilities Act, Title III
John Waldo, a Bainbridge Island, Washington, lawyer, works to put those legal ideals into practice. As advocacy director on council for the Washington State Communication Access Project (Wash-CAP), John works with that organization to advocate for measures that will lower barriers for all of us with hearing loss. Apart from Wash-CAP, John also represents people who confront individual problems relating to hearing loss in areas such as employment discrimination, education, worker's compensation or insurance problems.
John's interest is highly personal. He has a significant hearing loss, and wears hearing aids in both ears. Using his two decades of experience, principally in complex litigation, John is focusing his practice on making all of our lives richer by implementing the protections provided by state and federal laws.
For more information, or to discuss your legal needs with John, send a text message to (206) 849-5009, or email him at johnfwaldo@hotmail.com or john@wash-cap.com. You can also reach him by mail at 151 Finch Pl. SW, Suite C, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 or by fax at 206-841-4891.
You can also telephone 206-842-4106, but because of John's hearing loss, email or text messages are likely to be more productive.
