The US Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey secured a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that Advanced ENT & Allergy discriminated against a prospective patient who is deaf and has low vision in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Following an investigation, the US Attorney’s Office found that Advanced ENT & Allergy, which has eleven offices in southern New Jersey, violated the ADA by refusing to provide in-person sign language interpretation services where doing so was necessary for deaf and low vision patients to effectively communicate. Instead, the practice relied exclusively on screen-based, remote interpretation, even when those services could not accommodate patients and prospective patients who could not effectively see a screen due to their vision disability. It is anticipated that Advanced ENT & Allergy will be acquired by ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP effective January 1st, and will do business under that new name. ENT and Allergy Associates had no role in conduct at issue in the complaint.
