Is this public housing, or a private building?
elizabeth
----- Original Message -----
From: fakeMacGyver
To: epilepsy@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010 8:10 PM
Subject: [epilepsy] 9.20 landlord-discrimination update
As some readers might know, I was dealing with a landlord who was trying to remove me after 16+ years at the same location based solely on her not liking my seizures.
I'm not sure of everything I've already written, but here's information:
I was able to make statments to the investigator of the Civil Rights
department about what I would be willing to accept to settle. Not
just money, which isn't what this was fully about to me, but he wanted anything that would benefit me. Out of all I said, there were about 12 requests. He said that he spoke to the landlady and only two were acceptable to them. #1 - to agree to attent a epilepsy education class of some kind --- which, the investigator told me, is free; #2 - to place this anti-discrimination poster up on the bulletin board in the building -- which, according to the Civil Rights division own website, is a requirement. So, basically, they are agreeing to nothing.
Of most annoyance, I was told that the management wouldn't want to send any kind of apology because "they don't feel that he's been appreciative of times we've helped him". Helped how? They've barely been involved in any seizures and probably just learned of them this year. Should I be thankful if they pushed three buttons on a phone or opened a door for a paramedic to get in? Sure, but come on! I didn't go to them personally and thank them -- when I don't even know who was even around during an episode. I think that's pretty offensive and pathetic.
Also, I was specifically told that they won't want me on a first floor apartment. I requested this since, on the top fourth floor, there have been one or two times when I headed down the stairs when I was in a haze. My thinking was that it would, obviously, be safer for me if I was on a lower floor.
Friends of my tell me that they feel that was very wrong on their end and could be a discrimination form of its own. "They're just digging themselves deeper and deeper," I heard.
Of course, I wasn't going to just say "Sure, let's settle this and they can do the two things they want which wouldn't cost them anything or even get them to feel that they did wrong." So, since there is no settlement, it goes to the director who makes a determination of probably cause or no probable cause. Now, I was told that my speaking with the investigator was the last time, but he's been in touch in the last couple days. My guess is that the director wanted some more info.
What was requested was that I give permission to the investigator to talk with the neurologist. I'm not sure why this wasn't asked/taken care of months ago, but I assume that it was his thinking that the landlord would have wanted to settle the matter.
I've had HIPAA (HIPPA?) right violated and that was another situation elsewhere with doctors and so forth, so these days I very much do not trust any doctor to maintain my privacy and it's ashame. I told the investigator a bit about the past and that I was uncomfortable letting people share my info.
Nevertheless, I signed the form because I appreciated how limited it was. The neurologist was most-surely spoken to by now. It's my hope that this neurologist stuck to the questions and didn't include any opinions or non-requested informtation. The investigator told me that he was "only interested in facts", didn't need printed records, and would limit his questions to specific things, which were included on the document.
To be asked were:
- frequency of seizures
- type(s) of seizures
- whether I am on medication for the epilepsy
- is vomiting normal during his type of seizure
- what happens after a seizure
These were all okay with me and I had told the investigator all of these anyway. He wanted me to know that this had nothing to do with him not believing me; that, because it was a medical complaint, it's not completely the same as if it was a discrimination complaint based on race. I can understood that.
As it stands now, I wait to hear from the investigator again or just something in the mail. I was told that this would be completed by the end of Sept. or very early October at the latest.
I've not given up yet; nobody has asked me to.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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