3 women with disabilities file suit against State of Michigan, Wayne Co., Detroit over building violations

Three women filed a disability rights complaint Tuesday stating there are a plethora of violations at government buildings at the state, county and city level.

The issues, the women claim, are at the State Capitol, Michigan Supreme Court Hall of Justice, legislative Wayne County offices, and nine Detroit buildings, including City Hall, according to a federal lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.

The three plaintiffs are Jill Babcock, Jaime Junior and Ashley Jacobson.

Babcock, who uses a wheelchair, is from Detroit and has several physical disabilities like ataxia, a neurological disorder that affects her strength, agility, balance, motor skills, bladder control and speech. Junior, who is also from Detroit and uses a powered wheelchair, has cerebral palsy and osteoarthritis. Jacobson from Whitmore Lake is diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, interstitial cystitis and endometriosis. She uses a cane or wheelchair as these affect her strength, balance and restroom needs.

They all have difficulty accessing buildings and facilities without fully compliant streets, sidewalks, entrances into buildings, free and clear paths and updated restrooms.

"Each in her own way, all three plaintiffs want to be fully engaged in their communities outside of the four walls of their homes," according to the lawsuit. "These are not merely 'minor' inconsistencies or failures. They are clear violations of federal and state laws which interfere with Plaintiffs’ fundamental equal rights to access."

They allege similar violations in county offices and court buildings for Delta, Ingham, Kent, Livingston, Mackinac, Macomb, Oakland and Washtenaw Counties.

Michigan and federal law goes back further than Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The issues are in violation of Michigan's Barrier Free Design Act of 1966 and Architectural Barriers Act of 1968, which mandate that "physically handicapped persons will have ready access to, and use of Federal buildings," said their attorney, Michael Bartnik told The Detroit News.

"What's stunning is how far and through so many hurdles they have to go through to get to the bathroom when I can walk into any building and just find a sign. But somebody who is physically disabled has to in these buildings, in at least three courthouses in the State of Michigan, they have to get on an elevator and go down to the basement to use the toilet," he said. "Toilets may be there, but may not be fully accessible to a person in a wheelchair."

Even with the laws being in place for more than 50 years, persons with physical disabilities cannot operate the same in majority of state governmental buildings, Bartnik said.

"It's not a question of whether or not (governments) know what to do, they do and are able to do it. It's just that they have not finished it in every one of these buildings throughout the state in the last 40 or 50 years," he said.

They are hoping to get the state, Wayne County and City of Detroit to work together and fix the problem.

The lawsuit alleges that majority of the bathrooms on the first floor of Detroit's City Hall, the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, are locked. The court side of the building has several women's restrooms closed to the public.

"There should be at least one or two toilet stalls and ambulatory toilets in place in the next several months," Bartnik said. "We should be able to get to steps, curbs and ramps leveled out in 2023 so people can access these buildings and we need to get doors replaced so those heavy doors don't slam on people as they're trying to get through them."

The lawsuit comes after Bartnik says they formed a group between the city and the county's building authorities in 2020 to resolve the issues.

"We tried to get it done informally through the committee and that did not work," Bartnik said. "So we looked through other buildings in Southeast Michigan and throughout the state to find the best course of action."

Law department officials at the City of Detroit and Wayne County did not respond to requests for comment.

srahal@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @SarahRahal_