Maryland
Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office and Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Secure $440,000 Agreement with MedStar Health, Inc. to Provide People with Disabilities Equal Access to Medical Care
A complaint and proposed consent decree have been filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland to resolve allegations that MedStar Health, Inc., a healthcare provider in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying people with disabilities equal access to medical care by excluding their necessary support persons.
Under the proposed consent decree, which the Court must approve, MedStar Health has agreed to pay a total of $440,000 to compensate eligible affected individuals.
MedStar Health will also revise its policies to ensure ADA compliance, train its workforce on the new policies, and report to the Department on any future exclusion of support persons, as defined in the Decree.
The lawsuit and proposed consent decree was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“Patients are entitled to equal access to healthcare.” said U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron. “We appreciate MedStar Health’s cooperation in this investigation and are pleased that MedStar Health has agreed to take comprehensive steps to ensure that patients with disabilities have the same opportunities to obtain medical care and services.”
“For some people with disabilities, having a support person accompany them is critical to ensure they have the same access to health care as everyone else. This is a key promise of the ADA,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “When health care providers do not appropriately account for the needs of people with disabilities, they may provide unequal care in violation of the ADA. The Justice Department is committed to combatting such discrimination.”
As detailed in the complaint, certain individuals with dementia, intellectual disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and other disabilities may require the assistance of a support person (such as a family member, companion, or aide) when accessing medical care, including to provide information about medical history and/or to understand medical directions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, MedStar Health instituted policies restricting the flow of individuals into its buildings. The government’s complaint alleges that MedStar Health failed on numerous occasions to modify its visitor restrictions so that people with certain disabilities, which affected their ability to independently access medical care, could be accompanied by their support persons. As a result, they were unable to receive equal care without the assistance of their support person.
This matter was handled jointly by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the Civil Rights Division’s Disability Rights Section. U.S. Attorney Erek Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Marquardt and Trial Attorney Anne Langford of the Civil Rights Division, who handled the case.
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires private hospitals and other health care providers to provide individuals with disabilities with full and equal enjoyment of their goods and services. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office’s civil rights work, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/civil-rights. ADA complaints may be filed online at https://www.ada.gov/file-a-complaint/. Anyone in Maryland may also report civil rights violations by emailing [email protected].
Maryland
Maryland residents question new paint can fee amid growing costs
MARYLAND (WBFF) — A trip to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) left some drivers stunned by higher costs that they say are piling up across the state.
Tony Joshua said he walked away when he saw what it would cost to register his vehicle.
“Sticker shock? (laughs),” he said. “I turned right around and got out of the line. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have it.”
ALSO READ | Maryland’s new paint fees spark outrage as recycling nonprofit isn’t registered in state
The cost of registering, titling and inspecting a vehicle in Maryland doubled last year, but the fee increases don’t stop at the MVA. The Maryland legislature has approved more than 300 new fees in the past two years including a tire tax, a tech tax and a vending machine tax.
“It’s just like greed more than anything,” Baltimore resident Clifton Parrot said.
Baltimore resident Sheila Bowling questioned how the additional funding is being used.
“This is the million dollar question. Nobody knows what those fees are doing. Everything is high in the city,” she said.
If I’m dodging potholes, where is the money going?” Joshua asked.
One of the latest fees will be attached to every gallon of paint sold in Maryland and will go to a nonprofit organization that will manage Maryland’s paint recycling program. But FOX45 News has learned that the nonprofit, PaintCare, isn’t registered as a nonprofit in the state of Maryland, even though it’s set to receive a dollar fee for every gallon of paint sold in the state.
Joshua said the growing costs have him questioning whether he can stay in Maryland.
“It flabbergasts me where the money is going. Sometimes I’m like ‘dude, do I stay here?’” he said.
Bowling said, “This shouldn’t be happening in 2026 this shouldn’t be happening.”
For many Marylanders, the rising fees have strained budgets and morale, with some saying they can no longer afford the increasing price of driving.
“I’m just at my wits end about it. I’m like when do we, the taxpayers get a break?” Joshua asked.
Maryland
Deadly motorcycle crash closes busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Montgomery Co. – WTOP News
A deadly crash involving a motorcycle shut down a stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday.
A deadly crash involving a motorcycle shut down a stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday.
Montgomery County police said officers responded around 6:15 a.m. to a report of a crash involving a car and a motorcycle at Manor Road and Connecticut Avenue.
A motorcyclist was found in serious condition. Police said the man died at the scene.
A woman driving the car was hospitalized with minor injuries.
Connecticut Avenue is closed in both directions between Jones Bridge Road and Manor Road as police investigate the collision.
The crash is the latest in a series of deadly motorcycle incidents across Maryland, including a deadly hit-and-run in Charles County that left one man dead Saturday.
A map of the area is below.
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Maryland
Maryland House passes bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults
MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland lawmakers have approved a bill that would end the automatic charging of certain juveniles as adults and is now on its way to the governor’s office for review.
The Youth Charging Reform Act passed the House of Delegates on Monday after clearing the Senate last week. The bill aims to end the automatic charging of 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for certain drug, assault, and gun offenses.
ALSO READ | Bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults inches closer to passage
The bill drew significant opposition from several top prosecutors in Maryland, including Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.
For months, they’ve warned that the change could weaken accountability and pose public safety risks.
“DJS is not equipped to deal with these increased violent offenders, and the legislature should defer the implementation of this bill until the programs are in place,” McCarthy said.
Maryland sheriffs also joined the pushback, including Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees, who previously said, “This is not a smart move, by any means, I don’t like it because, and I think by and large, law enforcement doesn’t like it, because we don’t have a whole lot of trust in the juvenile court system and the DJS system.”
ALSO READ | FOX45 sends video of prosecutors’ concerns to lawmakers backing juvenile justice bill
Supporters of the bill argued that most cases end up in the juvenile system regardless, and therefore, it makes sense to start them in the Department of Juvenile Services.
“They’re already ingesting that work anyway; they’re already doing that workload anyway,” Sen. Will Smith, lead sponsor of the legislation, previously told FOX45 News. “We’re just wasting time and money by sending them to the adult system first.”
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The bill now awaits at Gov. Wes Moore’s desk for a final decision.
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