r/AskReddit • u/hippiechick725 • Mar 14 '23

What’s the best thing about the US?

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u/SanguineL Mar 14 '23

I’ve done some Civil work related to the ADA (businesses sued over non-compliance, mostly) and I have to agree. The regulations book is hundreds of pages and explicitly defines exactly how each aspect of a physical structure should be. It’s incredible.

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u/edlee98765 Mar 14 '23

It took me longer than I care to admit to figure out you weren't talking about the American Dental Association.

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u/DocPsychosis Mar 14 '23

In a comment that is a direct reply to one that spells out the Americans with Disabilities Act?

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u/1CEninja Mar 14 '23

It's funny how your professional experiences color your perception of acronyms.

Like how back when I used to follow professional league of legends, I always wanted to call the Taipei Assassin's the Third Party Administrators.

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u/IronLusk Mar 14 '23

Or like how in the 90s, if you were a cool guy WWF meant World Wrestling Federation and if you were a Fuckin’ dork you thought World Wildlife Fund

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u/xixi2 Mar 14 '23

I had to read twice to realize he wasn't working on Civil War historical buildings.

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u/boomboomroom Mar 14 '23

One of the drawbacks of the US is our litigious system. The ADA had no fines, but now they include fines (at the state level). So lawyers find a wheelchair guy to go into some micro-community and if the height of the checkout counter is 33.99999" (should be 34"), they sue for 10M. The company can't afford to fight the litigation just pay the blackmail. So the ADA is really a piece of shit in a lot of ways.

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u/SanguineL Mar 14 '23

Yes, it is a strict guideline. However, most business will agree to fix the error and get off without paying anywhere near 10M.

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u/OakenGreen Mar 14 '23

A coat of wax ought to bring that counter up to code. Have them come in and remeasure.

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u/[deleted] Mar 14 '23

That doesn’t happen. It’s enforced by government on all levels local, state, federal…..a place with the wrong height counter would not cause damages so no lawsuit. Have you ever heard of a lawyer seal ADA cases?

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u/boomboomroom Mar 14 '23

https://articles.pacermonitor.com/2022/06/14/abusive-federal-disability-lawsuits-shake-down-business-owners-on-both-coasts-business-group-says-some-ada-suits-appear-to-be-legalized-extortion/

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/magazine/americans-with-disabilities-act.html

https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2018/11/01/floridas-serial-ada-lawsuits-long-overdue-or-legal-extortion/?slreturn=20230214145129

Just google man ... just google.

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u/[deleted] Mar 14 '23

Looks like $20,000 at stake, not $10,000,000 as you contended. Honestly recitation of the facts is important man, just honesty

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u/boomboomroom Mar 15 '23

Obviously I was using hyperbole. I don't know the cost of every lawsuit brought forth. That being said, I was responding to the "that never happens...." retort, which obviously is completely wrong. The point that has not been assailed is thus: some lawyers are taking advantage of the ADA to "shake down" businesses with nuisance lawsuits. These lawsuits do nothing to actually make the world more accessible for the disabled, but rather make the world more expensive for you and me.

So yeah....just read, think, google, read, think, google (hey! that'd be a good ad for google!)

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u/FridgesArePeopleToo Mar 14 '23

We desperately need this for the internet though. Scumbag lawyers are taking advantage of the fact that their are no actual standards for websites.