Supreme Court to Consider Emotional Distress Damages for Disabled Patients

Supreme Court to Consider Emotional Distress Damages for Disabled Patients
The Supreme Court in Washington in a Nov. 5, 2020 file photo. J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Matthew Vadum
Updated:

This fall, the Supreme Court will grapple with the issue of whether federal civil rights laws allow compensatory damages for emotional distress in a case that may clarify what legal responsibility federally-funded health care providers have to provide accommodations to patients with disabilities.

The lawsuit was brought by a deaf-blind woman denied an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter by a health care provider.