1. Facts of the Case: The Appellant had Homonymous hemianopia (H.H) which means he does not have most of his left-side peripheral vision in both of his eyes. He passed all pre-requisite testing (the visual test and the 30 minute driving test) Constituted discrimination contrary to the BC Human Rights Act, S.B.C 1984, c. 22, changed to the Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210 Terry Grismer was a mining truck driver. In 1984 he suffered stroke resulting H.H. The British Columbia Motor Vehicle branch cancelled his license on the grounds that his vision no longer met the standards set by the British Columbia Superintendent of Motor Vehicles requirement of 120 degrees field of vision compared to the average person’s 200-220 degree field of …show more content…
Issue(s): Under s. 3 of the Human Rights Act, S.B.C 1984 c. 22, which was in place at the time Gismer’s licence was cancelled by the British Columbia Superintendent of Motor Vehicles. This section states: “no person shall (a) deny to a person or class of persons any accommodation, service or facility customarily available to the public, or (b) discriminate against a person or class of persons with respect to any accommodation, service, or facility customarily available to the public, because of the race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, marital status, physical or mental disability… (s. 3 of the Human Rights Act, S.B.C 1984 c. 22). Grismer was denied his license based on his physical disability. Grismer was denied his license because he did not meet the 120 degree field of view requirement even though he passed the visibility test and 30 minute driving test. The argument made for his denial of licensing was based on reasonable highway safety. The Superintendent was not looking for absolute safety because that is impossible to achieve, rather, he was looking for reasonable safety, even though he was able to drive safely with his disability, which he proved during his …show more content…
This makes it impossible to test Grismer on his ability to react to dangerous driving situations. 3. Ratio Dicidendi: Judge Williamson J., dismissed the petition for judicial review on the grounds that the Member made no error in interpreting and apply the bona fide and reasonable justification defense. Court of Appeal unanimously allowed the appeal on the ground that the standard could not be justified absent more empirical data from experimental studies; no form of safe testing that can measure one’s ability to deal with unexpected traffic situations (B.C. (Superint. Of mot. Veh.) v. B.C (H.R.C) p 878). 4. Court Holding: The judge allowed the appeal and restores the decision of the Member. Mr. Gismer’s estate pursued the case, the British Columbia Superintendent of Motor Vehicles and the Attorney General of British Columbia paid the appellant’s costs. 5. Analysis: This case is significant because it involves discrimination based on a physical disability as the result of a stroke. Even though Mr. Grismer passed all pre-requisite testing he was still denied a license. This is a case of someone being defined by their disability, not by their
Moran, John Jude. "Disability Discrimination." Employment Law: New Challenges in the Business Environment. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2014. 413-14. Print.
...g went to the fact that even though the business did not purposely discriminate, it did in fact due to a policy that is discriminatory in nature. In other words, the true reason for the firing was directly related to substance abuse. Although the employee was technically not let go due to the abuse specifically, the fact that this occurred in fact is enough to render the policy unfair. I feel that this law provides great value to my workplace as, it protects those who have made mistakes at the workplace due to a disability. In this case it was substance abuse, but the same concept could be applied to other conditions that alter behavior.
Their testimony has shown that my client has suffered extensive physical and mental injuries as a result of this accident. The auto accident expert also presented testimony which supports the plaintiff’s claim that had Mr. Jamerson not been illegally driving a commercial tractor in the far left lane on the Howard Franklin Bridge, the accident could have been avoided, or at least made a much smaller impact than the accident my client was involved in. The various testimony presented by the experts has shown that my client is in no way at fault for her injuries, and that she has and will continue to suffer permanent injury as a result of both defendant’s
Unlike Halford and Britt in which the defendant’s licenses were suspended for not appearing in court and maintaining insurance, which were all administrative in nature, Haley’s suspension of her driver’s license was more about her failure to obey. Haley had three tickets for failure to obey construction zone marker for three consecutive days and one for disregarding traffic control device. Compare to the violations of procedural issues in Halford, the violation in this case were more related to driving issues. Parking in the wrong spot could be the result of not be able to park in the right spot which crowed by other
TOLLE, N. L. (2015). Plaintiff's Alleged Alcoholism Was Insufficient to Find Him Disabled under the ADA, Court Rules. Employee Benefit Plan Review, 69(8), 20-21.
...nsed, disqualified or uninsured driving: Blameless driving and the scope of legal causation. Journal of Criminal Law, 78(1), 16-21. doi: 10.1350
Stateman, Alison. "Lawsuits by the Disabled: Abuse of the System?" Time. Time Inc., 29 Dec. 2008. Web. 21 May 2014.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the most significant laws in American History. Before the ADA was passed, employers were able to deny employment to a disabled worker, simply because he or she was disabled. With no other reason other than the person's physical disability, they were turned away or released from a job. The ADA gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. The act guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications. The ADA not only opened the door for millions of Americans to get back into the workplace, it paved the road for new facilities in the workplace, new training programs, and created jobs designed for a disabled society (Frierson, 1990). This paper will discuss disabilities covered by the ADA, reasonable accommodations employers must take to accommodate individuals with disabilities, and the actions employers can take when considering applicants who have disabilities.
Although the number of persons with disabilities is a growing population, that will continue to grow as baby boomers age, persons with disabilities are still a minority population. Taking into account the growth in this population is difficult as a person may develop a disability at any time whether from age, accident, or birth, and discounting this contingency in a cost-benefit analysis is difficult. Because of this many times their voices and interests may be lost in the crowd, no matter how unfair this may be. While there are laws that protect individuals with disabilities, the ADA itself has exceptions for historic property, which shows that the government at times allows historic cultural property to reign over disability accessibility. Furthermore, because it would be impossible to ask each and every person this is more of a guess that may or may not be correct as to people’s preferences which is difficult and not always fair. Therefore, although in the situation of Beacon Hill, after many questions and filling in gaps, a utilitarian analysis of the property decision would yield a victory to disability accessibility over the preservation of cultural property, it is clear that this may not always be the case and demonstrates why it may not be the best idea to analyze a decision in such a
To put it plainly, death is inevitable. However, fatalities among car crashes is among the most preventable situations we encounter today. Contrary to what many believe, texting and driving is not the only hazard among the road. Believe it or not, the elderly have posed as a serious threat among fellow drivers. To keep dangerously incapable folks off the road, the Texas Department of Public Safety, should lower the age from 79 to 65 to require people to personally visit the facility for a vision test and also mandate a driving test triennially under all circumstances for people over the age of 65. By doing so, there would be a decrease in automobile casualties, and decrease of dangerous drivers on the roads. ¬
Although it is a controversial topic, many individuals believe that the driving skills of senior citizens have declined and need to be addressed. According to The Telegraph, “more than a quarter (respondents) admitted to feeling unsafe when driven by someone over the age of 65” (The Telegraph). This topic dominates many family discussions, news stories, and headlines due to the risk that these driving skills have on others on the road. The Secretary of State Office in Michigan “receives 400 driver re-examination requests every month for drivers suspected to be unsafe, and the largest number, behind law enforcement, comes from family members” (USA Today). Although it is a hard discussion to introduce, families have a responsibility to address their concerns with their loved ones. Acknowledged as a popular and controversial topic, addressing the problem will ultimately prevent accidents and save
Better training for new drivers will improve young adults drastically. Writer Mr. Jamie Kitman, states “The first problem in the utter inadequacy of our training.” Stating that we need better help. “The second decider for me is the discovery by sciences that have poor decision-making the Hallmark of many teenagers existence has its roots in biology.” Indeed the right to drive should be doled out gradually two teams as it has been in New York since
The Comparison Point Decision (CPD) date was 05/07/2012. At age 3 he had a 15 words vocabulary, was starting to imitate words, sentences, and question forms. He received special education services. The claimant was diagnosed with 22q11.2 duplication syndrome, developmental delay (mostly affecting language), hypotonia (weak muscle tone), and mild mental retardation. The claimant’s condition medically equaled disability listing 112.02 (organic mental disorders)
...e obstacles of acceptance, health, determination, and the historic passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.