DCFEMS Sued Over Failure to Provide Deaf Interpreter

A deaf man has filed suit against the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services and two DC area hospitals for violating his rights under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Ryan Barrett filed suit today in US District Court for the District of Columbia. Besides DCFEMS, Barrett names George Washington University Hospital and the Psychiatric Institute of Washington as defendants.

The facts are explained in the complaint are as follows:

• In the evening of May 1, 2024, Plaintiff experienced anxiety and disorientation after consuming legally purchased psilocybin mushrooms as part of a personal wellness exploration, prompting a concerned housemate to call emergency services.
• DC FEMS dispatched EMS units to Plaintiff’s residence at 1710 Montello Avenue NE in Washington, DC.
• EMS records show that responders found Plaintiff rolling around on the ground and, rather than making any attempt to establish communication, relied on Metropolitan Police Department officers to restrain him physically, disregarding the possibility that Plaintiff’s behavior was due to a communication barrier and his inability to hear their commands.
• Despite the obvious need for communication assistance, none of the EMS personnel documented any effort to identify Plaintiff’s Deaf status, contact dispatch for ASL [American Sign Language] interpretation assistance, communicate in writing, or use any visual aids to facilitate basic communication.
• At approximately 8:20 PM, EMS records note that personnel administered 5mg of Versed (midazolam) intramuscularly to Plaintiff without obtaining informed consent or exploring alternative methods of communication.
• While the EMS records claim that Plaintiff’s blood pressure could not be obtained due to his mental status, the failure to recognize that the communication barrier was causing confusion epitomizes the discriminatory neglect that set the stage for subsequent violations.
• EMS transported Plaintiff to the GW Hospital Emergency Department at approximately 8:41 PM, where the hospital’s intake records incorrectly labeled him as “hard of hearing” and listed “EMAIL” as his preferred communication method, an inexplicable choice for an emergency context and a clear indication of GW Hospital’s failure to properly assess his needs.
• Between 9:09 PM and 9:25 PM, GW Hospital staff administered four powerful medications to Plaintiff, including haloperidol, midazolam, and diphenhydramine, without any documented effort to obtain informed consent through an effective means of communication. Specifically, at 9:09 PM, staff administered 5mg of haloperidol; at 9:09 PM, they administered 2mg of midazolam; at 9:24 PM, they administered another 5mg of haloperidol; and at 9:25 PM, they administered 25mg of diphenhydramine – all without explaining the purpose, risks, or potential side effects of these medications in a language he could understand.
• At approximately 9:25 PM, hospital staff applied four-point hard locking restraints to all of Plaintiff’s extremities.
• At approximately 12:47 AM on May 2, 2024, GW Hospital initiated involuntary commitment proceedings (FD-12) without any meaningful communication to Plaintiff regarding the legal basis for this action, his right to challenge it, or the process of involuntary commitment. No qualified interpreter was provided to explain these critical legal matters, depriving Plaintiff of his due process rights.
• By the morning of May 2, ED physician notes indicated that Plaintiff was awake, alert, and oriented, with “forward thinking” and appropriate concerns about his service dog’s care, which underscores that Plaintiff was not experiencing a psychotic break but rather suffering from inadequate communication access.
• From 8:00 AM to 3:40 PM on May 2, multiple psychiatric evaluations were conducted with no qualified interpreter, leading hospital staff to misinterpret Plaintiff’s confusion as evidence of a severe mental illness rather than recognizing it as a predictable result of a communication barrier.
• At approximately 7:49 PM on May 2, GW Hospital transferred Plaintiff to the Psychiatric Institute of Washington (PIW) against his expressed wishes, without explaining the reason for transfer, identifying the destination facility in a comprehensible manner, or providing any interpreter to enable Plaintiff to discuss his concerns.
• Upon arrival at PIW, staff recorded Plaintiff’s Deaf status yet failed to secure qualified ASL interpretation services throughout his four-day involuntary detention from May 2 to May 6, 2024. This constitutes a blatant disregard for Plaintiff’s clearly established need for  communication access.

The suit claims the failure to provide ASL interpretation services violates the Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation, 29 U.S.C. § 794, leading him suffer “anxiety, depression, and a heightened distrust of healthcare settings.”

Here is a copy of the complaint: