Thomas N. Stewart, III,
Attorney at Law

Below are summaries of some Disability Lawsuits I have filed

Restaurant: Client in wheelchair, who was attempting to enjoy her anniversary dinner, encountered an inaccessible toilet stall and ended up urinating on herself. After being sued, the Restaurant agreed to reconstruct its restrooms to make them accessible to wheelchairs, and paid client money damages.

Parking Garage: Quadriplegic Client was trapped at the Parking Garage entrance because he couldn’t grasp the ticket or push the small call button. Cars pulled in behind Client, honked their horns and yelled at Client to move. After being sued, the City agreed to install larger more accessible call buttons, and paid Client money damages.

Service Dog: Restaurant refused to serve Client with service dog. The police had to be called in order to convince the owner of the Restaurant to serve the Client. After being sued, the Restaurant agreed to change its policy, took a class on dealing with service dogs and made a monetary contribution to Canines for Companions.

Public Building: Paraplegic Client was unable to attend her second floor medical appointment because use of the elevator required Client manually to open a heavy door. After being sued, the County agreed to install an assistance buzzer, and paid the Client monetary damages.

Department Store: Client in wheelchair who wanted to try on wedding dresses was unable to do so because the disabled fitting room was being used as a store room. After being sued, the Store agreed to lecture its employees on the duty to maintain accessible features, and paid the Client monetary damages.

Mail Services Store: The Store refused to assist a visually impaired Client in preparing a return receipt. After being sued, the Defendant agreed to a policy of assisting the visually impaired, and paid the Client monetary damages.

Bank: Client in wheelchair went to her bank. The force required to hold the exterior doors open was so great that Client’s strength gave out, the door hit her in the head and she became stuck in the doorway. After being sued, the Bank agreed to correct the door pressure, made other changes to the interior of the Bank and paid the Client monetary damages.

Office Building: Client in wheelchair went to see her insurance agent who worked on the second floor of an office building. After the appointment, on her way out of the building, Client got stuck in the elevator. The elevator’s emergency button was positioned so high that Client could not reach it. Client used the elevator’s telephone, but the person who answered it did not speak English. Client was trapped in the elevator for 45 minutes. This case is pending.

Discount Store: Parking lot to major discount store did not contain van-accessible parking spaces. Client in wheelchair was repeatedly required to park far away from the entrance and take two spaces to make sure he could get back into his van. After being sued, the Store agreed to re-striping its parking lot and paid the Client a confidential amount of damages.