You GO Sam!
Am I proud because he is suing,no. Am I proud he is standing up for himself and saying hey,just because I can’t hear, doesn’t mean I can’t…
In-flight movies prompt lawsuit /Teenager says under law, films need captions
By ROSANNA RUIZ , L.M. SIXEL
Staff
A hearing-impaired teenager from Houston has taken on the airline business because the carriers don’t offer in-flight movies with captions.
A federal lawsuit was filed earlier this week on behalf of Sam Bynum, an 18-year-old high school senior who is severely hearing-impaired and relies upon captioning to watch TV and movies.
It contends Continental, American, United and several other carriers are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by not accommodating him and more than 25 million others who have a severe hearing loss. He hopes to have the lawsuit certified as a class action.
Bynum likes to watch movies on planes but can’t enjoy them like those who listen with headphones, said his lawyer, Marian S. Rosen.
“To see a film and not understand what is said is like not watching a film at all,” Rosen said. She has also sued several movie production companies and movie theatre operators for not offering movies with captions for those who are hearing impaired.
United Airlines spokesman Jeff Green said the airline doesn’t typically comment on pending litigation. But, he said, there are technical problems with putting captions on the screens.
For one, they’d be hard to fit on the small screens used on planes. With screens ranging in size from a paperback to a sheet of notebook paper, the type would either be tiny or take up much of the screen.
A spokeswoman at American Airlines said company policy prohibits officials from commenting on pending litigation. A representative from Continental Airlines did not return a call for comment.
But Houston lawyer Brady Edwards argued that adding subtitles would not be onerous.
The airlines run news shows on their movie/television screens, said Edwards, who represents passengers in a similar disability accommodation case. There is room for the name of Larry King at the bottom of the screen, he said, so why not subtitles?
And he said the change would help the hearing impaired better understand the safety messages.
Edwards represents mobility-impaired passengers in wheelchairs and scooters who have sued Norwegian Cruise Lines after finding a ship serving Galveston where entire decks were inaccessible and their wheelchairs wouldn’t fit in the hallways and elevators.
Many times, it doesn’t cost a company much to make an accommodation, he said, adding that Norwegian Cruise Lines contends it doesn’t have to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act because it operates under foreign flags.
Norwegian Cruise Lines does not comment on pending litigation, according to the company’s lawyer, Tom Wilson of Vinson & Elkins.
Disability laws require that companies must make reasonable accommodations to comply with the disabilities act, said Edwards’ partner, David George.
The legal issue in the airlines’ case may be determined by the cost of making captioned movies available. For example, George said, small mom and pop businesses are not required to provide elevators to disabled customers because that would be too much of a financial burden. On the other hand, requiring a major hotel chain to provide elevators would be seen as a reasonable accommodation.
In this case, if airlines “are required to spend millions to retrofit every plane, that may not be reasonable, but if they just have to install software, that may be considered reasonable,” George said.
Re: Awesome - let me tell you about MY daughter
Oh, she is good. Much more aware than my son. Reminds me though that there was never any discussion at my son’s school about him dictating the written part of the reading test. I never thought of it either….
He did come home and say that the reading test wasn’t that bad. He didn’t say that last year so maybe he is doing better.
Beth
Re: Awesome - let me tell you about MY daughter
GOOD FOR HER!!!! What bad? Leah,your an outstanding mother,no bad to it.
Re: Awesome - let me tell you about MY daughter
Leah, I am an admirer of your daughter. She is how I want my son to be. You always talk about her tenacity and he drive. She sounds wonderful.
That girl will set the world on fire someday!
The captions would help me some, but...
let’s not talk about my poor hearing and mediocre signing skills.
Having been involved in accessibility issues for decades and actually having done some accessibility surveys for government agencies and private corporations, here is my prediction about airlines and movies.
If the airline loses the case they will take the path of least expense and remove ALL the movies from all the planes. They save not only the price of the accommodation, but they save the future price of purchasing and installing all the screens and headphones, as well as all the movie fees.
Unfortunate and I hope I’m wrong.
I still hope the plantiff wins though.
John
Well it didn't last long
Of course, today we had another meltdown because I put her on a timer to get ready in the morning (we’re almost always late to school). She threw herself down, pitched a fit and screamed because the ticking of the timer was so LOUD. (Mind you, she’s 10)
Funny, she doesn’t act that way at school.
I guess days like this keep you humble! ;-)
Re: Awesome - let me tell you about MY daughter
Might want to look into dictation for reading answers AND the FCAT writing. She did, however, have to go back and correct all punctuation, capital letters, etc. (The scribe writes in all lower case). Jami can dictate a great story, but get her trying to figure how to get the letter on the line, going in the right direction, no reversals and spelling it right too, is ALOT to ask.
She’s the child who even puts in quotation marks (not always exactly correct), but knows the basics, so scribing is perfect for her. You just have to find what works best for your own child and fight for it.
Re: Well it didn't last long
I was talking to my friend the other day about our spunky children. We both also have other, easygoing children.
We know that if we can somehow keep them in check without stealing that spunk these kids will be really amazing adults. It is just a very fine line. Or really a tight rope.
Sam sounds like the next Peter Wright! May his tribe increase.
Let me tell you about my Jami:
This week is FCAT week. Got a letter from the ESE teacher (typewritten - now THEY cover all their bases). She said, Dear Ms. _____, As you know I will be testing Jami next week for FCATs. She did well on the writing portion (w/frequent breaks) and I feel she is becoming a capable and competent writer (figure they’re going to use this for ammunition to say she doesn’t NEED the IEP and accms. anymore) and would like to give her the opportunity of writing the answers to her reading FCAT. I wrote back, said “I trust your judgment based on your observations, blah, blah. and I have advised Jami she will be writing her answers”. (Appearing very reasonable)
Jami comes home this afternoon, and I nonchalantly ask, “How did the testing go?” She smiled and said “I dictated” (scribed). I said, “Mrs. __________ said you were going to write the answers - that’s what she and I agreed - remember I told you last week?” She answered, “Mrs. ______________ asked me so I told her I wanted to dictate BECAUSE I DO BETTER THAT WAY.
I hugged her and said I am SO proud of you - do you know what you did - you just became a self-advocate!. She had a huge smile. Gosh…maybe she’s learning good things from me as well as bad!