Countywide : Advocates for Disabled Can Expand Lawsuit

Bankruptcy Judge John E. Ryan on Thursday granted advocates for the developmentally disabled permission to expand their lawsuit against the county.

The suit, filed originally on behalf of five developmentally disabled men, charges the county with discrimination for imposing work restrictions on the disabled in March after a hepatitis A outbreak among them.

The judge’s ruling, which granted the lawsuit “class certification,” means the five men now can represent all 300 or more developmentally disabled people who may have been affected by the restrictions.

The ruling therefore also expands the county’s potential liability, said Eric Gelber, attorney for the plaintiffs.

The rules removed disabled food workers and those caring for children and the elderly from their jobs until they could prove they were immune to the disease.

So far, 45 developmentally disabled people or people who have had contact with them have come down with the disease.

Attorney Rob Hastie, who represented the county during the court hearing, told Ryan that the county Public Health Agency’s rules were never aimed a group of people, but rather the disease itself.

A pretrial hearing is set for June 15.