NYC Woman Who is Unwelcome on MTA Bus with her Service Animal Files Lawsuit

NEW YORK - Feb. 7, 2016 - PRLog -- Hannah is a person with disabilities as the term is defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and suffers from vision impairment in her right eye, severe anxiety, manic depression and schizoaffective disorder. These issues cause her to become forgetful, suffer panic attacks and seizures, which can cause her to experience an increased heart rate, dizziness, increased anxiety, heavy breathing, shortness of breath, paranoia and an inability to focus. She is also prescribed medications by her physician. Thankfully, she has her service animal, Jasper, to assist her. But many MTA bus drivers regularly confront her, harass, intimidate and even kick her off of the NYC buses when she boards the bus with her service animal.

Allegations Within the Federal Court Complaint

Hannah has been repeatedly denied equal access to the MTA's City buses and within her Complaint, she cites ten (10) specific instances where she had been kicked off of the bus; passed by and left standing on the street when bus drivers leave her and her service dog stranded; and has had buses taken out of service because the bus drivers refuse to believe that her service dog is in fact, a service dog.

On May 21, 2015, on or about 3:30 p.m., at 161st Street and Elton Avenue in the Bronx, Hannah waited with her service dog, Jasper, for the BX6 bus. As she boarded the bus with her service dog, the driver told her to step outside, which Hannah did. The bus driver said that she was going to be calling her supervisor about Hannah's dog. Instead, the bus driver drove away, leaving Hannah and her service dog, Jasper, stranded. This Incident caused her to lose sleep and experience anxiety all night.

The Complaint alleges that the New York City Transit Authority has violated the Public Transportation provisions of the ADA as well as the New York City Human Rights Code in denying Hannah access to the City's buses with her service animal.

Michael J. Redenburg, Esq. represents Hannah and maintains an office at 11 Park Place, Suite 817, New York, NY 10007.

http://www.mjrlaw-ny.com

212-240-9465

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