A deaf man suffering from end-stage kidney disease died alone at home on his birthday because two city-run hospitals didn’t have sign-language interpreters available to explain to him the seriousness of his condition, according to a lawsuit.
Andre Berry, 52, died Nov. 5, 2013, with a hospital catheter still attached to his body, his grieving sister told the Daily News.
“I was with him in the hospitals so many times and we would ask for an interpreter, and they would say we would have to wait for one to be paged and they never came. They never came,” said Denise Berry, 52.
“They treated him like he was a regular hearing person, and he wasn’t. He had special needs, and they never helped him, never gave him the interpreters that by law he was entitled to,” the distraught sibling said.
The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Federal Court by Berry’s estate, names the Health and Hospitals Corp. as the defendant because the two Bronx hospitals involved — Jacobi Medical Center and Lincoln Medical Center — are operated by the city.
“There was a complete communication breakdown . . . Andre Berry was unable to find out about his condition, treatment and prognosis,” said Eric Baum, who represents the family, along with deaf rights attorney Andrew Rozynski. “No person should be treated in this manner.”
Berry was diagnosed HIV-positive in 2008 and had diabetes plus kidney disease and required regular dialysis, the lawsuit said.
He lost his hearing as an infant due to an infection and relied on American Sign Language to communicate, his sister said.
Berry’s hard-luck upbringing included many years spent in foster care apart from his sister and other siblings and a life of dependency on city services — but he often failed to grasp what was being offered to him because few agencies had sign-language interpreters to help him, his sister said.
His fatal health crisis started Oct. 3, 2013, when he showed up at Lincoln Medical Center for his regular dialysis after missing several appointments.
Staff noted in his medical records that “he is hard of hearing and communication was difficult,” the lawsuit said.
“He has severe hearing impairment . . . and very poor insight about his condition,” hospital staff wrote, according to the court papers.
Nearly three weeks later, on Oct. 21, Berry wound up at Jacobi after collapsing in the subway with chest pains.
His sister called ahead to warn the hospital a deaf patient was coming who needed a sign-language interpreter — but none was provided, the suit said. Berry was kept in the hospital, diagnosed with multiple serious medical conditions.
According to records dated Oct. 23, staff noted that he had a “hearing difficulty . . . and usually needs sign-language help,” the suit said.
Berry was “not educated” about his diagnosis and teaching him was not possible at the time “due to patient needs an interpreter at bedside to communicate,” the suit said.
After two surgeries, including one to place a catheter in his right femoral artery, Berry left Jacobi on Oct. 29.
A day later, the lawsuit said, Jacobi called Denise Berry because it wasn’t clear if her brother left with the catheter in place.
“It is difficult to get hold of Mr. Berry because he is deaf, so he won’t answer his phone and he is unable to read text messages per his sister,” staff wrote, according to court papers.
Berry was found dead in his apartment Nov. 5, with the catheter implanted, his family said.
A spokesman from HHC said the agency couldn’t comment on matters of patient privacy or pending litigation.
