[blindlaw] Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 2008

John joramsey at cox.net
Tue Jan 6 03:35:50 UTC 2009


Hi Craig,
Man you are dusting off the archives of tort law with that one. As I recall,
five or fewer States even remember the standard of contributory negligence.
I think it is safe to say that the argument of contributory negligence has
basically died out a long time ago. The well accepted standard is either a
pure comparative negligence scheme or a partial comparative scheme. Either
way, you are correct about the different standards for those that played a
part in the injury. Nonetheless, I think the law is definitely against some
form of mystical martial arts training replacing the white cane or guide dog
for the reasonable blind user.
Cordially,
John

John A. Ramsey Jr., Esq.

Gainesville, FL 32609

Phone: (352) 505-6642



-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Craig Borne
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 9:17 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: Re:
[blindlaw]Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 2008


It's not that blind folks are required to warn people of their presence;
it's that blind folks are to conduct themselves reasonably.  In fact, in the
case discussing the "reasonable blind person" standard, the blind individual
was not using his cane while navigating through his newsstand store he
operated in a federal building.  Remember, the reasonable person standard
goes both ways: the sighted individual has to be acting reasonably as well.
Walking backwards is not reasonable on a public street.  This gets into the
whole negligence vs. contributory/comparative negligence/assumption of the
risk argument.

Bottom line: blind individuals should conduct themselves reasonably, meaning
what the average blind individual with similar background and similar
experiences would do in a similar situation.  If the blind individual is
acting "reasonably," then he is not negligent.  Moreover, if the blind
individual is negligent, the sighted individual walking backwards might be
contributory /comparatively negligent, thereby lessening or knocking out the
need for damages.

Craig

Craig Borne, Esq.
Baltimore, Maryland
"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial
appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in
defense of custom."  --Thomas Paine, Common Sense -----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of John 
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 8:53 PM
To: 'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'
Subject: Re:
[blindlaw]Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 2008

And how do you propose that we eliminate this need. It is somewhat analogous
to the need to warn unsuspecting people that they are underneath of a window
cleaning scaffold. This is probably a terrible analogy but it is very
similar. It is not that blind people that are hazardous, but in my case for
example, if I did not use my cane, I might cause all kinds of accidents. It
is not that we are some kind of hazard, it is just that blind people who
tend to forget to realize or blatantly ignore their limitations cause
problems for those of us who do take the necessary precautions to protect
ourselves and others. John

John A. Ramsey Jr., Esq.

Gainesville, FL 32609

Phone: (352) 505-6642



-----Original Message-----
From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Mark BurningHawk
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 8:45 PM
To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
Subject: Re:
[blindlaw]Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 2008


Interesting; at bottom line, blind people are required to warn the public of

their presence.  Of course I know I'm being slightly stretchy here, but 
shouldn't the goal be to eliminate this need?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John " <joramsey at cox.net>
To: "'NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List'" <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 4:29 PM
Subject: Re: 
[blindlaw]Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 2008


> Chuck,
> Believe it or not, I have had several people fall over my cane because 
> they walk backward while chatting with friends and the like. I have no 
> idea what
> the liability would be if you were acting as the reasonable blind person
> would act. However,  I can almost guarantee you that if you were 
> practicing
> some form of martial arts  navigation you are going to be liable if 
> someone
> is injured because you walked into them and the like.
> Take care,
> John
>
> John A. Ramsey Jr., Esq.
>
> Gainesville, FL 32609
>
> Phone: (352) 505-6642
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindlaw-bounces at nfbnet.org]
> On Behalf Of ckrugman at sbcglobal.net
> Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 4:56 PM
> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
> Subject: Re: 
> [blindlaw]Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 
> 2008
>
>
> This is totally hypothetical but I have always wondered about the 
> potential liability if someone is injured when they trip and fall over 
> my cane when they are not paying attention. I realize its far-fetched 
> but many law suits
> are far-fetched.
> Chuck
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "KEITH VICK " <keith-vick at msn.com>
> To: "NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List " <blindlaw at nfbnet.org>; "Mark
> BurningHawk" <stone_troll at sbcglobal.net>
> Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 8:18 AM
> Subject: Re: [blindlaw]
> Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 2008
>
>
>> Hi List Members, I believe that New York has a statute that disallows
>> a claim of negligence based on failure to use a cane. This may be the 
>> case in other states. Also, as someone who has had the privilege of 
>> training in
>
>> aikido and brazilian jiu jitsu I find the concept of martial arts 
>> training
>
>> as a recognized adaptive method rather amusing and highly
>> speculative. However, I do admit that the training has helped me 
>> adjust to my progressively worsening vision mostly because the arts 
>> trains one to deal with unexpected movements against ones body - a 
>> rather common occurrence in the subways of New York city. Warmest 
>> regards, Keith Vick
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Mark BurningHawk
>> Sent: 1/4/2009 11:26:01 PM
>> To: NFBnet Blind Law Mailing List
>> Subject: Re: [blindlaw]
>> Fw:AccommodationandComplianceseries:TheADAAmendmentsAct of 2008 I am 
>> not sure of a way in which a blind person using skills learned via a 
>> certain type of training could injure another person.  I am a bit 
>> disturbed to hear that there's a different "reasonable standard," for 
>> persons and blind persons, but other than that, I think my original 
>> question has been answered, and I really didn't mean to stir up any 
>> controversy over mobility
>> methods.
>>
>>
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