Paraplegic's lawsuit prompts Weston to stop using sand at playgrounds
Limited access
Enrique Madrinan, who is confined to a wheelchair, watches his 5-year old-son,
Antonio, play as his sister 8-year-old Michelle plays in the background at
Weston Regional Park. His lawsuit resulted in Weston stopping the use of sand at
playgrounds, which kept him from going there with his children.
(Photo/Josh
Ritchie / March 13, 2008)
WESTON - Some may consider
this manicured, tree-lined, family-friendly city nearly perfect.
Not Enrique Madriñán.
A paraplegic, the father of two sued the city for what he considered a glaring
fault: sand on the playground at Weston Regional Park. Madriñán, frustrated by
the barriers facing the disabled in so many public places, may soon take his
fight elsewhere in Broward County.
His lawsuit, filed in a Miami
federal court in March 2007, accuses Weston of violating the federal Americans
with Disabilities Act by failing to make the park accessible to the disabled.
Madriñán says the sand forced him to watch his children from afar whenever they
visited the playground, a favorite family spot since 2001.
Madriñán, who has used a wheelchair since a car accident in Colombia at 18,
could struggle over the mulch surrounding the play area but not the sand. So,
during a visit last year, he sat helplessly out of reach when his son, now 5,
needed an assist on the swing. Nor could he help his daughter, now 8, as she
dangled from the hanging rings.
"I felt so guilty," said Madriñán, who lives with his wife and children in
Miramar. "I should be able to push my son. And what if he fell? I couldn't get
to him."
The city settled the lawsuit in October, agreeing to replace the sand with a
kid-safe — and wheelchair-friendly — rubbery surface.
"The bottom line is, we are going to comply with ADA laws, both because it's the
law and it's the right thing to do," Mayor Eric Hersh said. "If the sand is not
meeting standards, we're going to change it. It really doesn't matter how much
it costs. You have to fix it."
Pleased with his win in Weston, Madriñán, 46, said his next targets may be
Pembroke Pines and Miramar. He considers it his mission to help enforce a law
that has been on the books since 1990.
"I think every city in Florida is behind" in ADA compliance, Madriñán said. "It
seems the life of a disabled person is the last thing they want to think about."
The law, he says, is on his side.
Passed by Congress in 1990, the law allows a disabled person to file a federal
lawsuit if he or she cannot access a public building because of ADA violations.
Plaintiffs cannot collect damages, but if a disabled plaintiff wins, the
defendant can be forced to pay the legal fees.
Weston paid $11,750 to cover Madriñán's legal fees.
The settlement gave the city a September deadline to replace the sand at Weston
Regional Park and comply with ADA guidelines.
But Weston officials moved quickly to replace the sand and mulch on both
playgrounds at Weston Regional Park, 20200 Saddle Club Road, at a cost of
$168,400.
In January, the City Commission agreed to spend an additional $167,800 to remove
sand at two other parks, Tequesta Trace and Emerald Estates.
Some residents have already complained to city officials about the disappearing
sand.
In January, Commissioner Mercedes Henriksson mentioned residents' objections and
asked why Weston was altering its parks while other parks in Broward County were
keeping their sand.
City Manager John Flint had the answer: Those parks had not been sued. Weston
had.
People like Madriñán are the primary enforcers of the ADA, said Phyllis Resnick,
president of Access Now Inc., an advocacy group based in Aventura.
The U.S. Justice Department can respond to complaints but sues only in rare
cases, Resnick said.
"There are some instances where a strongly worded letter will work," she said.
"It's worth a try."
More often, Resnick said, it takes a legal challenge to persuade business owners
and even government officials to comply with the ADA.
"That's very typical," said Brian Ku, the Miami attorney who represented
Madriñán. "People who are business owners or government officials are reluctant
to do anything until they are forced to. Many of our clients have written
letters and ... meet with frustration. However, when we file a lawsuit in
federal court, things get done very quickly."
Madriñán said he wonders why those who oversee so many parks and other public
gathering spots ignore a federal law.
"It's a shame they have to wait for a lawsuit," he said. "I don't know why they
don't do it right from the beginning."
Susannah Bryan can be reached at
sbryan@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7929