Fields v. Maram

No. 04 C 0174 (N.D. Ill. August 17, 2004) ; Clearinghouse Number: 55826

Description

Class Certified in Suit Against Illinois Department of Public Aid for Denying Wheelchairs to Disabled Nursing Home Residents

Abstract

The district court certified a class in a Medicaid discrimination suit brought by six disabled Medicaid recipients residing in Illinois nursing homes against Illinois Department of Public Aid director. In their suit under Section 1983 all persons who have disabilities, who are or will be recipients of Illinois’s Medicaid program, who reside in Medicaid-funded nursing homes, and for whom motorized wheelchairs are medically necessary but who have not been provided with such equipment are the certified class. Plaintiffs alleged that defendant’s policy of refusing to provide medically necessary motorized wheelchairs to disabled nursing home residents receiving Medicaid violated the Medicaid Act (42 U.S.C. § 1396), the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12132), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794(a)). In support of their motion for class certification, plaintiffs submitted a June 2002 letter from one of defendant’s supervisors to a health care provider; power wheelchairs are not approved for clients in nursing homes, according to the letter. After plaintiffs filed this suit and moved for class certification, defendant provided each plaintiff with a motorized wheelchair. However, this would not moot plaintiff’s claims, the court found, because class certification related back to the complaint’s filing date.

Additional Information

Attorney Information
Plaintiffs represented by Max Lapertosa, Kenneth Walden, Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago, 614 Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL 60607 (telephone number: 312.253.7000).
Docket Date
2004-08-17 00:00:00+00:00
Attorney Email
mlapertosa@accessliving.org, kwalden@accessliving.org