Brain Injury Patients Sue State of Massachusetts for Allegedly Violating Americans with Disabilties Act
Last week, four brain injury patients and the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts filed a class-action lawsuit against the state, Governor Deval Patrick and other state officials for being in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that the state of Massachusetts has failed to provide community-based care for brain injury patients and has thus required them to face a lifetime of nursing home confinement, which is against the law. A Boston.com story detailed how the lawsuit is not seeking damages for personal injuries but rather asking the state to implement a community care policy for all patients with brain injuries within five years.
Supporters of these brain injury patients have said that approximately one-fourth of the 8,200 patients in Massachusetts with severe brain injuries have requested community-based care, which would thus allow them to be with their families and still have access to caregivers. 54-year-old Catherine Hutchinson is one of the plaintiffs in this class-action lawsuit and wrote that being confined to a nursing home has made her “feel isolated from the real world.” Lawyers of the plaintiffs have cited similar statements echoing that Massachusetts brain injury patients have been left in isolation due to the state’s unwillingness to pay for community-based care.
In response to the lawsuit, state officials said that the state is committed to providing the best possible care for patients with brain injuries and is currently in the process of implementing new programs offering community care options for these types of patients. State officials also added that they have taken similar requests of brain injury patients in the past with great seriousness and disputed the notion that they did not care for their needs.
The Boston.com story added that the lawsuit seeks to represent all Massachusetts brain injury patients who are in nursing homes and then noted that a federal judge would determine who could participate in the suit. The story also detailed how this case may take years to be resolved in litigation. In the meantime, we’ll keep you updated on the latest developments with this issue.