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| Why Choose YELLOW DAWG?
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Founded by Veteran| May 30, 2011 Don't Become a Victim of a Costly Lawsuit |
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Don’t Become a Victim of a Costly Lawsuit In today’s struggling economic times, opportunists have found a way to exploit businesses like yours…and the attack is coming from those you would least expect—the disabled. Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in July 1990. Since its inception, there have always been lawsuits citing the inaccessibility of establishments. While these lawsuits are nothing new, in the last few years the number of cases filed in federal courts has sky-rocketed. These have been dubbed as “drive-by” lawsuits simply by the nature of the way these complaints are discovered: a disabled person visits a business, takes a few photos, then moves on to the next victim. No business can be “grandfathered in.” Structures built before 1992 are considered “existing facilities” and are required to make all “readily achievable” changes to structural barriers whereas structures built after 1993 are required to be “readily accessible” for individuals with disabilities. Are you in violation? Probably. Most business owners are unfamiliar with ADA laws. ADA guidelines are civil rights laws and have nothing to do with building codes. A vast majority of public and private facilities contain violations of ADA, although they passed a building inspection. Therein lies the problem. The United States Department of Justice has jurisdiction over civil rights violations, including ADA, although any state may require even more accommodations than outlined in federal law. Florida has utilized that right. Just because a building inspector has signed off on the plans, an architect may assume the project is in compliance. This assumption can be fatal to your business’ bottom line. Many of the drive-by lawsuits are for seemingly minor violations such as a lack of accessible parking, incorrect striping layout or a missing sign, where the complainant never even enters the building. The consequences of not correcting the deficiencies are potentially tragic. Businesses found to be out of compliance are typically given the opportunity to settle (for a mere $20,000) or enter an even more costly litigation in federal court where the law requires the losing party to pay all legal fees. If you have not already ensured compliance with ADA, your motivation should be two-fold. The first and most important reason should be simple: it’s the law. Secondly, for anyone not in compliance, if you haven’t been sued yet, it is just a matter of time. The ADA is here to stay. Finally, to add one more wrinkle to this mess, one need not even be disabled to file an ADA complaint. YELLOW DAWG STRIPING can quickly and easily, for very limited cost, bring you into compliance and help reduce your exposure to “ADA Drive-By Lawsuits”. Please feel free to our Toll Free Call Center 1-800-998-3294 or find us on the web at www.YellowDawgStriping.com.
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