Opinion ID: 1347867
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Remainder of Hospital Stay

Text: The Loefflers maintain that, despite their constant requests in the following days, the Hospital never obtained an interpreter. Loeffler, 2007 WL 805802, at . According to Bobby, Hospital personnel would put off questions by saying we're working on it or . . . I'm not the person you need to talk to. Josephine also claims she requested a TTY in order to avoid making extra car trips to the Hospital, but the request was denied. From October 27 to November 7, 1995, the family continued to rely on Kristy and Bobby, who stayed out of school to remain on duty as translators. Id. The Loefflers claim that the Hospital gave Kristy a pager so she could be on call. Both Bobby and Kristy claim to have suffered depression as a result of their father's stroke, and the role they performed in relaying medical information. Id. According to Henderson, she noticed Robert's name was still on the Hospital census the week after the surgery, made inquiry and was told by the charge nurse that someone else was there to interpret, and that the Loefflers seemed fine. It is unclear whether the interpreter to whom the charge nurse was referring was Kristy, or someone else. At some point, Henderson spoke with her director, Nancy Ferrara, about the Loefflers' interpreter request. On November 6, 1995, the Loefflers filed this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York claiming that the Hospital's failure to provide an interpreter violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Pub.L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327 (1990), codified as 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213. The district court issued an order to show cause compelling the Hospital to provide a sign language interpreter. On November 8, 1995, the Hospital stipulated to all requested relief, and thereafter provided Robert with interpretive services for the duration of his stay. Loeffler, 2007 WL 805802, at . (Robert was finally discharged from the Hospital at some point in December 1995.) Within two months of the Loeffler incident, the Hospital amended its sign language interpreter policy. Id. According to Ann Marie McDonough, the Hospital's Associate Vice President for Rehabilitation Services, the staff is now trained on how to identify patients who may need sign language interpreting or other communication services. Interpreters are now paid to be available during working hours and available by pager after hours. The Loefflers have visited the Hospital on multiple occasions since the policy was amended, and received interpretive services on all but one occasion. Id.