[nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left ontrain in Brussels

[Lisa belville]

Well, it's easy for all of us to judge and be the proverbial Monday Morning 
quarterback with situations like this.  The info given is only as accurate 
as the reporter's research.

I do wonder, though, why he chose to leave his dog at home.  Taking the dog 
and then having a cabby refuse to transport would have been a perfect 
example of the discrimination he was afraid of.

Also, did this person not at least flag down another passenger or a 
conductor and request help?  I doubt if it was a language barrier, and this 
would have been the easiest way to obtain the help.

Just sitting waiting on a train while it's being emptied out is not a place 
I'd want to be, especially if I needed to be someplace on time.

It's one reason why I hate asking for help when flying; they expect me to 
wait until someone has come to the gate, and to the flight attendants, this 
means I need to sit in my seat like a good little girl rather than exiting 
the plane with everyone else.  I almost missed a connection once due to this 
attitude, so I just grab my carry-on stuff and head out with everyone else.

But, the person in this article didn't have their dog or a cane, they didn't 
have as much autonomy.

And before anyone says I should navigate airports alone. . . I only fly once 
every three years or so.  I don't do it often enough to be good at it, so I 
don't learn the layouts of airports and I'd prefer to get assistance when 
possible so I can get where I need to be on time..

IF THE HOUSEWORK IS DONE - THEN THE COMPUTER IS Broken!
Lisa Belville
missktlab1217 at frontier.com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ginger Kutsch" <gingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 5:35 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left 
ontrain in Brussels


> Blind man Dr Tom Pey may sue Eurostar after being left on train
> in Brussels
>
> LEFT ALONE: Tom Pey, pictured here with his guide dogBy emma
> curry reporters at sevenoaks-chronicle.co.uk
> http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Blind-man-train-ordeal/article-3
> 231003-detail/article.html
>
> A BLIND man is threatening to sue Eurostar after he was abandoned
> on a train in Brussels.
>
> Dr Tom Pey, chief executive of the Royal London Society for the
> Blind (RSLB) and Dorton House in Seal, has accused the travel
> firm of disability discrimination.
>
> He was travelling to the European Parliament to press for
> improved rights for guide dog owners at a meeting of the European
> Guide Dog Federation, of which he is president, on Wednesday,
> February 2.
>
> He had left his guide dog in Seal, worried that Belgian taxi
> drivers may not want to take him, and was taken to the station by
> his secretary Alison Nield.
>
> Unable to get through the barriers, she asked a Eurostar employee
> to help Dr Pey on to the train and the train conductor to guide
> Mr Pey off the train in Brussels.
>
> But when they arrived, Mr Pey was left alone. He waited for half
> an hour before struggling out of the station himself.
>
> Dr Pey said: "It's really difficult to make your way around in a
> foreign country at the best of times, quite apart from being
> visually impaired.
>
> "I was also at a real loss without my guide dog.
>
> "I eventually managed to stumble off the train and remembered
> that the taxi rank was near a pizza restaurant. Only problem is
> there are two pizza eateries at Brussels station. It was most
> distressing."
>
> Ms Nield said: "I usually travel with him. Tom's quite brilliant
> but this situation was unacceptable.
>
> "It was luck rather than judgement that got him off that train.
>
> "At this end, Eurostar knew perfectly well he needed assistance.
> It's ridiculous."
>
> Tim Arnold, communications manager of the RLSB, said: "Eurostar
> are re-defining the word 'shameful'. They have a clear
> responsibility under the Equalities Act to make a reasonable
> adjustment for disabled people.
>
> "Tom's lawyers say he has a good case for disability
> discrimination."
>
> A Eurostar spokesman said: "This was obviously a distressing
> experience for Dr Pey and we have called him to apologise
> unreservedly.
>
> "Situations like these are thankfully rare, but are taken
> extremely seriously and therefore, together with our SNCB
> colleagues at Brussels Midi, we are investigating why this
> happened as a matter of urgency."
>
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