Danbury Dentist Office Settles Handicapped Compliance Complaint

DANBURY, CT — A dentist office has settled a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office that it was not handicapped-accessible.

The complaint had been filed against Blake I. Winokur, D.M.D., P.C., doing business as Rolling Hills Dentistry, and its landlord, 53 North Street, LLC, by a wheelchair-bound person.

The complainant alleged that upon entering the building in which Rolling Hills Dentistry is located, he could not get to the entrance of the practice because it could only be accessed using a staircase, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, 53 North Street, LLC, the landlord of Rolling Hills Dentistry, will install an ADA-compliant platform lift for each of the two staircases in the shared interior space of the building. As part of the settlement agreement, Rolling Hills Dentistry will remediate minor ADA-compliance issues in its patient toilet room.

Under federal law, private businesses that own or operate places of "public accommodation," including professional offices of healthcare providers, hospitals, and other service establishments, are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of disability. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate complaints and undertake periodic reviews of compliance of covered entities. The Justice Department is also authorized to commence a civil lawsuit in federal court in any case that involves a pattern or practice of discrimination or that raises issues of general public importance, and to seek injunctive relief, monetary damages, and civil penalties.