PRACTICE PERSPECTIVES


READ THE FOLLOWING PAGES FOR MORE ARTICLES ON DISABILITY TOPICS AND COMPLIANCE


Considering the Americans with Disabilities Act


Two recent issues related to adherence with the Americans with Disabilities Act (AwDA) have come as questions to the MDA office. We cover those below and on the following pages, provide two additional articles as resources to help members and their teams better serve this patient population.


PRACTICE SIGNAGE REQUIREMENTS


QUESTION: We’re remodeling our office. Can you tell us which inside office signs are required for AwDA compliance (such as Braille signs for exam rooms, exit, etc.)?


ANSWER: When considering office design, members should review the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. These — along with the Title II and Title III regulations — say what is required for a building or facility to be physically accessible to people with dis- abilities. You can access these standards at ada.gov/law-and-regs/design-standards. Ad- ditionally, this is addressed as one of several disability topics in the excellent resource, A Dentists Guide to the Law, published by the ADA. You can purchase it online at bit. ly/3YwVY5S. The MDA often recommends this resource due to its thoroughness on a variety of regulatory and compliance issues (from the website, click the Table of Con- tents button to see its array of topics).


PRACTICE WEBSITE COMPLIANCE


QUESTION: I received an email from a law office asking my practice to contact them im- mediately regarding my “ongoing violations of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §12181 et seq, the regu- lations implementing the ADA set forth at 28 CFR § 36.101 as well as applicable case law” and that a response was requested within 14 days. I’m curious if there are other Missouri dentists who have received similar emails? Of note, upon MDA speaking with this dentist, he stated he had learned this law firm was


ISSUE 4 | WINTER 2025 | focus 21


going after other small businesses in the Kansas City area and they are winning cases, costing the businesses between $5,000- $40,000 in settlements.


ANSWER: The MDA consulted with the ADA, who states that unfortunately, these “strike” lawsuits are quite common, dat- ing back many years. Defendants can have class action lawsuits filed against them by firms like the one who sent this demand. These firms specialize in AwDA lawsuits and churn these cases, filing hundreds, if not more, cases a year and hoping for a quick, early settlement. Just as there are law firms that specialize in filing these cases, there are firms that specialize in analyzing and defending them. It’s a highly technical area and the regulations can change frequently.


The ADA suggested the member have a quick initial consultation with their attorney to see if they defend these types of cases or can recommend a firm that does. Members also can inquire with their malpractice providers, as some may have liability coverage under their business owners’ policy. Referring to A Dentists Guide to the Law, one of its disability entries is, “Does my practice website need to be accessible to people with disabilities such as someone who is blind or heard of hearing?” Also, the ADA endorses a website design company, BaseKamp, and stated that all their dental websites include proper ac- cessibility access options. Learn more about their services at basekampdesign.com/ada.


The following pages’ related articles are reprinted with permission.


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