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http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/...1/APN/509010732&cachetime=3&template=dateline
A deaf woman is suing a hospital for not providing her with a sign language interpreter during child birth.
In her lawsuit filed Wednesday, Lisa Monique Webb alleges that St. Francis Medical Center in suburban Lynwood violated her civil rights under state law, according to a statement from the Western Law Center for Disability Rights, which is representing Webb.
The absence of a sign language interpreter made Webb's Caesarean section and subsequent stay at the hospital in December 2003 a fearful and frustrating experience because she did not understand what was happening to her or her newborn daughter, according to the law center.
"In a hospital, silence is not golden," Michelle Inouye Schultz, an attorney representing Webb, said in a statement. "It is critical that deaf patients be able to communicate with their doctors and nurses about their medical history, symptoms and prognosis."
The lawsuit also seeks a court order requiring St. Francis and its parent company, Daughters of Charity Health System, to train their employees about laws mandating effective communication for deaf people.
The hospital's attorney, Stephen H. Zell of Tustin, said through his secretary that he couldn't comment.
Linda Woo, a St. Francis spokeswoman, said the hospital has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
According to the law center, Webb, a single mother, alerted the hospital a week before she was admitted that she was deaf and repreatedly requested an interpreter after she was admitted.
St. Francis provided her with an interpreter for 15 minutes prior to her Caesarean but not during the operation or the following three days, the complaint says.
From the fourth through seventh days of her stay, an interpreter visited Webb once a day, according to the complaint.
"I never want what happened to me to happen to anyone else who is deaf," Webb said in a statement.
A deaf woman is suing a hospital for not providing her with a sign language interpreter during child birth.
In her lawsuit filed Wednesday, Lisa Monique Webb alleges that St. Francis Medical Center in suburban Lynwood violated her civil rights under state law, according to a statement from the Western Law Center for Disability Rights, which is representing Webb.
The absence of a sign language interpreter made Webb's Caesarean section and subsequent stay at the hospital in December 2003 a fearful and frustrating experience because she did not understand what was happening to her or her newborn daughter, according to the law center.
"In a hospital, silence is not golden," Michelle Inouye Schultz, an attorney representing Webb, said in a statement. "It is critical that deaf patients be able to communicate with their doctors and nurses about their medical history, symptoms and prognosis."
The lawsuit also seeks a court order requiring St. Francis and its parent company, Daughters of Charity Health System, to train their employees about laws mandating effective communication for deaf people.
The hospital's attorney, Stephen H. Zell of Tustin, said through his secretary that he couldn't comment.
Linda Woo, a St. Francis spokeswoman, said the hospital has a policy of not commenting on pending litigation.
According to the law center, Webb, a single mother, alerted the hospital a week before she was admitted that she was deaf and repreatedly requested an interpreter after she was admitted.
St. Francis provided her with an interpreter for 15 minutes prior to her Caesarean but not during the operation or the following three days, the complaint says.
From the fourth through seventh days of her stay, an interpreter visited Webb once a day, according to the complaint.
"I never want what happened to me to happen to anyone else who is deaf," Webb said in a statement.
