I am still to this day mystified as to how business owners
react to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The photograph above is a prime example of
exactly what I am describing.
This photograph was taken at a gas station in the City of Pico Rivera. The gas station has one van accessible
parking space; however, there was a 3/4” change in elevation between the van
accessible parking space and the walkway to the gas station convenience
store. Because of the ¾” change in
elevation, the gas station received a lawsuit and as a result, they removed the
entire van accessible parking space and poured a new concrete parking space
that was 100% level with the adjacent walkway.
Everything is good now????
Well, as with so many businesses, the parking space was
only one of many violations of the ADA
that exist at the gas station. It was
at this point that I offered my services to the gas station manager as I
thought they may want to avoid future lawsuits.
Sure enough, as with most business, they believed they
were O.K. now and did not want to enlist my services as a professional ADA consultant.
Unfortunately, the business owner has gone from bad to
worse if that is possible and will probably be involved in another lawsuit in
the next year or two. The basis of the lawsuit will be the incorrect
signage located in front of the new van accessible parking space. Of particular issue is the tow away sign
which I will discuss.
The tow away sign is required at all vehicular
entrances. There is an exception that
allows the tow away sign to be located adjacent to the accessible space as
shown above. So far, so good, but now
we need to examine the sign. The
accessibility code is very specific as to the language of the sign and provides
the exact language in a paragraph of the accessibility codes. In addition, the signage is to provide the
location and the telephone number of where a towed vehicle can be
obtained. This contact information is
important because legitimate tow companies will not tow without that
information. Finally, the accessibility
code state the sign shall be 17” wide x 22” high and shall have text that is 1”
high. It’s obvious the tow away sign in
the photograph above does not meet any of these very specific requirements.
Believe it or not there are numerous other issues with
regards to the other signage shown above including sign size, mounting height
and other missing signage. It’s hard to
believe, but these few signs can get the business owner into a whole lot of
trouble in the form a lawsuit.
Now for the sad news……..correct signage for this location
will probably cost a total of $150.00 maximum.
In reality if there is a lawsuit, the cost to the business owner will be
no where near that amount. More than
likely the owner will pay $4,000.00 to a plaintiff or if the business owner
chooses to fight it, the cost of an attorney will exceed the cost of the
correct signage. And to be honest, my
fees as an ADA
consultant would be far less then both the cost of a lawsuit and the cost of an
attorney.
Unfortunately, I see this often where owners are just too stubborn
to pay for the services of an ADA consultant and
end up in a lawsuit where they ultimately pay the plaintiff and then pay my fee
as an ADA
consultant and then pay the cost to fix the issue. Why are business owner not proactive and
eliminate the lawsuit by enlisting my services? Now one will ever know what these business
owners are thinking, but one thing is for sure………….it’s costing business owners
thousands of needless dollars.
