Welcome to Disability Rights Advocates
DRA is a non-profit law firm dedicated to protecting and advancing the civil rights of people with disabilities. DRA advocates for disability rights through high-impact litigation, as well as research and education. We do not charge our clients for our services. Learn more about DRA.
June 25, 2008: Senior Federal District Court Judge Samuel Conti has issued his decision in the landmark case brought on behalf of veterans suffering from PTSD and traumatic brain injury in July of 2007. The trial was conducted from April 21-30, 2008, and included a week of testimony in early March. The trial focused on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care and adjudication systems for disabled veterans. The trial included testimony from the heads of national veterans’ organizations, top VA officials and some of the leading experts in the country on the widespread failings of the VA system.
Read the Press Release.DRA's 15th Anniversary Gala
October 16, 2008
5:30 PM to 9:00 PM
The Palace Hotel in San Francisco, CA
For sponsorship or ticket information, contact Pat Kirkpatrick at 510-665-8644 or e-mail at pkirkpatrick@dralegal.org
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – In a major victory for disabled consumers which is expected to have broad implications for retailers across the State, the California Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that blocking aisle with removable fixtures by Mervyn’s department stores without providing effective means for making merchandise available discriminated against people with disabilities.
Read the Press Release.On May 30, 2008, Judge Freedman of Alameda County Superior Court granted final approval to a class action settlement agreement between Plaintiffs Kidd, et al. and the State. The central issue in the case was the use of the CA High School Exit Exam (“CAHSEE”) as a diploma requirement for students with disabilities. Pursuant to the Agreement, the State will put out an RFP to fund a study of the CAHSEE by a neutral expert which will examine its impact on students with disabilities. A report will be issued once the study is completed and the neutral experts’ recommendations for necessary policy changes will be distributed to the legislature.
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The Sutter Health network of hospitals, medical foundations and other health care service providers has taken a big legal step toward further improving health care access for patients with mobility, visual, hearing and speech disabilities who seek care at Sutter facilities.
On July 11, 2008, Judge Bonnie Sabraw of the Alameda County Superior Court granted final approval to a class action settlement agreement between Disability Rights Advocates and co-counsel Goldstein, Demchak, Baller, Borgen & Dardarian and Sutter Health. The landmark settlement is geared towards improving health care access for patients with disabilities at Sutter facilities. This comprehensive agreement resolves a class-action lawsuit filed to address these issues.
Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), private co-counsel, and Sutter Health announced Friday, April 18, 2008, that the Sutter network of hospitals, medical foundations and other health care service providers has taken a big legal step toward further improving health care access for patients with mobility, visual, hearing and speech disabilities who seek care from Sutter facilities.
Under the terms of the Agreement, Sutter is going to remove architectural barriers, acquire and install accessible medical equipment, and review and update policies and training relevant to people with disabilities at all of its California facilities.
Read the Order in Adobe Format.Read the Exhibits in Adobe Format:
Exhibit A
Exhibit B
Exhibit C
Exhibit D
Exhibit E
Exhibit F
Exhibit G
Exhibit H
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On December 28, 2007, an en banc court of the Ninth Circuit returned the case to the district court for further review and analysis of UPS's use of the DOT hearing standard in its driver application process. Further trial of this issue has been postponed to give the parties an opportunity to discuss whether ot not a negotiated resolution is possible.
Read the Press Release.The Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA) and the National Park Service (NPS) are discriminating against individuals with disabilities by denying them access to GGNRA parks. In order to end this discrimination, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a California-based non-profit law firm, filed a class action complaint today in federal court on behalf of all people with mobility and vision disabilities who have been denied access to GGNRA parks.
Read the Press Release.Golfers with disabilities have scored a major victory in a lawsuit against Marriott International, Inc. In a disability civil rights case with far reaching implications, a federal court in San Francisco has ruled that Marriott is obligated under federal law to make accessible golf carts available for the use of disabled golfers. Even though hundreds of golf courses around the country have informally recognized that disabled golfers are entitled to this accommodation in order to access their courses, Marriott had said it had no obligation to the thousands of disabled and senior golfers who cannot play without an accessible golf cart.
Read the Press Release.Successfully applying for reasonable accommodations on high-stakes standardized tests, like the SAT and LSAT, is often an extremely challenging experience for students with well documented learning and visual disabilities. If you or someone you know is a person with a documented visual or learning disability who has applied for accommodations on the SAT or LSAT, but has been denied the testing accommodations that you requested, we want to hear your story. If you are a person with a visual disability who needs accessible LSAT preparation materials or has attempted to use the LSAC website to submit law school applications, we would also like to hear about your experiences. Please click here to share your experiences with the LSAC or SAT. Your help is absolutely crucial to our efforts to end discrimination against people with disabilities.
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