The U.S. Justice Department is suing a 24-facility Arizona eye care center for alleged discrimination against patients with disabilities who need assistance in transferring from their wheelchairs to the surgical table for eye surgery, the department said Dec. 20.
The lawsuit alleges the Scottsdale-based Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to provide patients with disabilities transfer assistance. Instead, the company allegedly requires these patients to hire third-party medical support personnel.
The patients, transported by third-party medical support personnel, are brought into the facilities on gurneys or stretchers and are required to remain on them until surgery, the Justice Department alleges.
The lawsuit asks the center to cease the discrimination and train its staff to provide patients with assistance in transferring to and from their wheelchairs.