On August 14th, Disability Rights Florida filed suit in federal court against the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles on behalf of a licensed motorist with multiple sclerosis, alleging discrimination by the Department in its medical review of motorists with disabilities.
While visiting her local driver’s license office in 2011 to request an address change, Sandra Berkley was asked about her disability by an office supervisor noticing Ms. Berkley used a cane for mobility. Based on this observation, she was reported to the Department’s Medical Review Section.
For the next four years, Ms. Berkley’s physicians have repeatedly noted her ability to safely operate a motor vehicle on mandatory departmental medical reports she is asked to submit. Despite such certifications – and without apparent regard to the fact that such reports are conducted at the time and expense of Ms. Berkley and her physicians – she has been unsuccessful in her attempts to be removed from the Department’s medical review, or to appeal or request reconsideration of the Department’s determinations.
Much of Ms. Berkley’s frustration stems from confusion over the manner in which these medical reviews are authorized and conducted. As the complaint alleges, a troubling amount of the information regarding how the Department and its Medical Review Section conduct medical reviews is found embedded within the Department’s internal policy and procedure manuals, rather than in statute or rule as required by state law.
Moreover, such medical review and reexamination is frequently predicated upon the mere presence – actual, visual, or perceived – of a disability in a licensed motorist, and not on an individualized assessment of the specific risks presented by a motorist’s disability, or that motorist’s driving abilities. The lawsuit alleges that this discriminatory practice violates the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1974, and the Florida Constitution.
Curtis Filaroski, an attorney with Disability Rights Florida, notes that, “The Department’s discriminatory treatment of individuals like Ms. Berkley rests upon its own misunderstanding of the unique range of disabilities and conditions managed by a segment of the state’s licensed driving population. It’s our organization’s hope that Ms. Berkley’s case will encourage the Department to make its medical review processes more fairly-applied and understandable, based on actual safety risks posed by motorists and without reliance on outdated speculation, stereotypes and generalizations about individuals with disabilities.”
Disability Rights Florida has been advocating for access to services, education, employment, independence, and the elimination of abuse and neglect for over 35 years. Our legal and advocacy services are free and confidential.
You may request assistance using our toll free number 800-342-0823, or you may contact us online at http://www.DisabilityRightsFlorida.org/intake