DOJ weighs in on Terp Lawsuit

A deaf man who is suing a blood plasma company for not providing him with a sign language interpreter now has the support of the Department of Justice.

In the lawsuit, Mark Gomez claims CSL Plasma Inc. refused to provide an interpreter to answer his questions about the registration form for donating plasma at one of its Chicago locations. The Department of Justice confirmed this week that if the company did not provide an interpreter then it would be an ADA violation. You can read the DOJ statement here.

CSL Plasma has not commented on the lawsuit. Equip for Equality helped Gomez file the suit and a news release from the organization quotes Gomez as saying:

“I just want to donate plasma to help others, while paying my mortgage and household expenses,” said plaintiff Mark Gomez. “My friends and family have donated with CSL Plasma, but I can’t just because I’m deaf. That’s discrimination.”

You can read the news release here.