Disabled Patient’s Family Revives Bias Case Against Hospital (1)

A Texas family can revive disability bias claims against a hospital and medical providers that put a quadriplegic patient into hospice care instead of treating his respiratory illness, a federal appeals court said Wednesday.

Disability discrimination claims can arise from medical decisions regarding the treatment of disabled people, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said. Although Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act don’t typically provide a remedy for negligent treatment, that doesn’t mean a failure to treat can never rise to the level of disability discrimination, Judge Edith ...