Virginia Business Lawsuit - Term Paper Example

This would lead to the endangerment of their lives and would also inconvenience them in their shopping. The plaintiffs complained of there parking spaces being built on slopes and that the curb ramps were built on excessively steep grades. They also complained of the mall having improper access point to the buildings making access to the building for the disabled difficult. The malls also lacked handrails to assist the disabled in their movements into the mall. This made it to be increasing difficult for the disabled customers to navigate efficiently in the malls.

The restrooms had toilet facilities that were unsuitable for the disabled customers since, they did not have the required specifications to accommodate the disabled. All this factors led to the disabled taking action against the mall for discrimination and ignorance on the needs of the disabled. The lawsuit involved the major malls located in the region. They included “Crossroads mall, Valley View Mall, Tanglewood Mall, Towne Square Shopping Center, Lake Drive Plaza and Spartan Square Shopping Center” (Hammock, 2012).

The lawsuit was forwarded on behalf of the plaintiffs by the national alliance for accessibility. The group cited the lawsuit was because of the gross violations by the malls on the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act was created to protect the rights of the disabled by ensuring they can access public places. The act has litigation that governs the environment that is needed to make certain that this admission is realized. The lawsuit also included other public institutions. These institutions comprised of two motels and a university (Hammock, 2012).

The management of the malls had not put the interests of the disabled high on their agenda. They seemed to have forgotten about the special needs of the disabled segment of the clientele. This neglect led to the lawsuits that not only discredited malls, but also suffered financial consequences for the violations. It is essential for the management to ensure that their companies or organizations follow the rule of law. This is by ensuring that the set requirements for the business are met to avoid legal consequences.

In the case of the disability lawsuit, the managers of the malls mentioned in the lawsuit could have avoided this whole scenario if they complied with the law. The managers of the malls and the other mentioned institutions should have carried out a risk assessment. This is in order to know what risks the customers and employees face, in the mall environment. This would have enabled the management to categorize the issues that need to be rectified and the matters that need to be addressed. This risk assessment would have enabled the management to be conscious of the predicament of the disabled and correct them before they became a legal matter.

The risk assessments are inclusive since the views of customers and employees are collected. If the risk assessment would have been carried out, the management would have become aware of the plight of the disabled customers. This would have made it possible for them to rectify the problem avoiding lawsuits that would rise from the issue. This would have saved the company legal fees and settlement payments. The risk assessment would also have been helpful in that other problems that the management was not aware of would be brought to light