Robinson v. CareAlliance Health Servs. (Summary)

AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT

Robinson v. CareAlliance Health Servs., Civil Action No. 2:13-cv-1916-RMG (D. S.C. Sept. 4, 2014)

The United States District Court for the District of South Carolina denied a hospital’s motion to dismiss an obstetrician’s disability discrimination claim, holding that a non-employee obstetrician with clinical privileges is not precluded from bringing a “reasonable accommodation” claim against a “place of public accommodation.”

Plaintiff, an obstetrician, was not able to stand for long periods of time due to a foot fracture stemming from diabetes. Therefore, he delivered babies while sitting on a rolling stool. After a complicated caesarian performed from the stool resulted in an infection to the patient, the hospital suggested the obstetrician take a medical leave of absence. After the leave of absence concluded, the obstetrician experienced difficulty getting his privileges reinstated.

The obstetrician sued, claiming the hospital had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by not providing him with a “reasonable accommodation” by allowing him to use a rolling stool and allowing nurses to carry babies for him. The hospital claimed that the obstetrician is precluded from such a claim because he was given privileges at the hospital and is not a member of the public seeking services at “a place of public accommodation.”

The court held that a non-employee obstetrician with hospital privileges is not precluded from bringing a “reasonable accommodation” claim against a “place of public accommodation.” The court relied on the United States Supreme Court’s broad interpretation of the ADA to include non-employees with privileges. The court recognized that other lower courts have used “clients or customers” to limit the ADA’s scope of who can assert a claim against “a place of public accommodation.” However, the court believed that the weight of authority allowed such a claim.