A Winter Park plastic surgery practice has agreed to pay $40,000 and revamp its policies after federal investigators said the clinic refused to schedule consultations for patients with HIV and Crohn’s disease. The settlement wraps up two complaints that triggered an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Orlando and was announced this week. The case has caught the eye of patients and disability-rights advocates who say outdated stereotypes about chronic conditions can quietly slam doors on basic care.
Settlement terms
Under the agreement, Kamran Azad, MD P.A., which operates as Azad Plastic Surgery, will pay $20,000 to each of the two complainants and must adopt, post, and enforce a nondiscrimination policy on its website, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. The practice is required to train all personnel on the ADA’s nondiscrimination rules, including specific training on HIV discrimination and on providing plastic surgery services for patients with HIV, and must report any disability discrimination complaints to the United States for the next two years.
What investigators found
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said it launched its investigation after receiving a complaint from a man who reported he was turned away because he is HIV positive, and a separate complaint from a woman who said she was refused because she has Crohn’s disease. "APS relied on incorrect assumptions and stereotypes about HIV and Crohn’s disease, not on current medical knowledge," the office said in its release, concluding that the practice refused to schedule consultations for the two patients.
Clinic response
The facility’s office manager told the Orlando Sentinel that Azad Plastic Surgery chose to settle "even though it disagreed with certain characterizations of the events leading to this matter," as the paper reported. The Sentinel ran the manager’s statement alongside the Justice Department’s announcement.
Why it matters
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act bars public accommodations, including professional offices of health care providers, from discriminating based on disability and requires that policies rest on legitimate medical risk, not speculation or stereotypes, according to ADA.gov. Enforcement actions like this settlement are meant to ensure providers follow current medical knowledge and do not screen out people with disabilities from routine services.
The deal locks in federal reporting and oversight for the next two years while the practice rolls out the required policy and training. Patients and providers in the area will be watching to see whether those changes translate into more dependable access to consultations at this clinic and, perhaps, nudge others in the region to follow suit.
