Burger King to Test Devices to Help Deaf People Order : Lawsuits: Settlement follows Santa Monica woman’s charge that she was refused service because she could not hear.

In a legal settlement that could speed the breakdown of barriers to the disabled, Burger King has agreed to test electronic ordering devices and provide menu order forms at some of its restaurants to accommodate the hearing-impaired and people with speech impediments.

The agreement resolves a lawsuit brought by Terrylene Sacchetti, a Santa Monica woman who alleged she was refused service at a West Los Angeles Burger King drive-through because she is deaf. The suit sought to invoke the Americans with Disabilities Act, a wide-ranging 1990 law requiring businesses to accommodate disabled people in public spaces.

As part of the settlement, Sacchetti will sign an 18-month contract to advise Burger King as it develops new menu-ordering devices. Sacchetti, an actress, will also appear in two commercials highlighting the chain’s efforts to serve the disabled. Burger King will pay no damages but will cover half of Sacchetti’s legal expenses and compensate her as a consultant, said Sacchetti’s lawyer, Alexis Kashar, who is also deaf.

Burger King has agreed to provide menu forms at 99 restaurants within the next six months for customers who want to write their orders. The Miami-based chain has also agreed to develop and install electronic ordering devices at 10 restaurants by March, 1995. If the test is successful, the devices would be installed within the franchise chain’s 6,000 restaurants, the company said. Sacchetti will help select test sites.

In the lawsuit, filed last December in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, Sacchetti said she drove past the West Los Angeles drive-through intercom and handed a written order to an employee. Sacchetti, who can read lips, said the worker refused to fill the order, argued with her and threatened to call the police if she did not move her car.

Michael Evans, a Burger King spokesman, said he could not comment on the specific allegations.

“It was an unfortunate incident,” Evans said. “When this suit came up, we realized we weren’t addressing the issue as well as we could. We wanted to make it right, and this agreement is a win-win situation for everyone.”

“I am surprised and delighted at the motivation, commitment and desire of Burger King to meet the needs of the deaf and the hard of hearing,” Sacchetti said in an interview Friday. “This will not only affect those who are deaf and hard of hearing, but will also benefit the speech-impaired and non-English-speaking people.”

The technology that Burger King develops will probably be adopted by many other restaurants, some industry leaders say.

“This is a hard way to learn a lesson, but Burger King has responded in a fashion that may benefit the 43 million Americans with disabilities,” said Wendy Webster, a spokeswoman for the National Restaurant Assn.

Webster said the restaurant association has developed a booklet explaining the legal obligations of restaurants to the disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Washington-based trade group has also developed a videotape designed to raise the sensitivities of restaurant employees.

“The law talks about physical barriers but does not discuss the attitudinal barriers of employees,” Webster said. “This is a learning experience, and that’s why we ask restaurants to work with the disabled community.”

The settlement will encourage other disabled people to demand reasonable service, said Sande Pond, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Western Law Center for Disability Rights. Pond helped prepare Sacchetti’s lawsuit.

“This sends a message and empowers people with disabilities,” Pond said. “It was nice to see a company step up to the plate and find a way to solve this problem.”