Julian Vargas v. Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc.

District Court, C.D. California·Decided September 29, 2023·No. 2:19-cv-08108·Unknown

Opinion

JULIAN VARGAS and AMERICAN ) Case No. CV 19-8108-DMG (MRWx) COUNCIL FOR THE BLIND, individual ) ) and on behalf of themselves and all others ) FINDINGS OF FACT AND ) CONCLUSIONS OF LAW similar situated, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) QUEST DIAGNOSTICS CLINICAL ) ) LABORATORIES, INC., QUEST ) DIAGNOSTICS HOLDINGS, INC., and ) QUEST DIAGNOSTICS ) ) INCORPORATED, ) ) Defendants. ) ) This matter is before the Court following a four-day bench trial that began on November 1, 2022. Jonathan D. Miller, Benjamin J. Sweet, Callum T. Appleby, and Jordan T. Porter appeared on behalf of Plaintiffs Julian Vargas and American Council for the Blind, and the Plaintiff Class. David H. Raizman, Mark S. Sidoti, Betsy Johnson, Daniel S. Weinberger, Michael R. McDonald, and Jan N. Marfori appeared on behalf of Defendants Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc., Quest Diagnostics Holdings, Inc., and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (collectively “Quest”). Having carefully reviewed the evidence and the arguments of counsel, as presented at trial and in their written submissions, the Court issues the following findings of fact and conclusions of law pursuant to Rule 52 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

I. FINDINGS OF FACT1 A. Plaintiffs This is a class action consisting of the following Class Members: All legally blind individuals who visited a Quest patient service center in the United States between January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019 (the “Class Period”) at which the e-check-in self-service kiosk was the primary method for check-in and who, due to their disability, could not use all the functions of the kiosks. Vargas is a legally blind individual who lives in Van Nuys, California. FPTCO ¶¶ 5(j), 5(i). American Council of the Blind (“ACB”) is a membership organization that advocates on behalf of the blind and those with visual impairments. Rachfal Trial Decl. ¶¶ 6–7. B. Defendants Quest is in the business of providing diagnostic information services, which includes collecting blood and urine specimens from patients that it then tests in accordance with physician orders. Final Pretrial Conference Order (“FPTCO”) ¶ 5(a) [Doc. # 295]. Quest Diagnostics and its subsidiaries receive the specimens for testing from hospitals and medical practices, but also collect specimens for testing through patient service centers (“PSCs”) located throughout the United States. Id. at ¶ 5(b). There is no standard configuration or size for Quest PSCs. Day 1 Tr. at 181:18–19; Reilly Decl. ¶ 8. PSCs are staffed by one or more Patient Service Representatives (“PSRs” 1 To the extent any of the Court’s findings of fact may be considered conclusions of law or vice versa, they are so deemed. or “phlebotomists”), who are trained to collect blood and other samples from patients, and other staff. Yarrison Decl. ¶ 5. Some PSCs, for instance, have employees whose primary role is to assist patients with check-in. See Reilly Decl. ¶ 8. But Thomas Walsh, Vice President of Strategy and Digital Transformation, testified that generally Quest “does not have a role of a receptionist or attendant within a waiting room . . . . That was not part of the model.” Day 2 Tr. at 28:15–29:10. Instead, the role of assisting patients in the waiting room is usually filled by phlebotomists, who come into the waiting room after finishing with each patient to call the next patient back. Id. at 29:4–22; see also Reilly Decl. ¶ 42, Yarrison Decl. ¶ 5. C. Kiosks In the past, patients at PSCs would indicate their arrival, or check in, by entering their names on a paper sign-in sheet maintained in the waiting room. FPTCO ¶ 6(a). But in 2014 or 2015, Quest began to explore ways to modify PSC check-in practices. FPTCO ¶ 5(d). Quest looked for ways to improve both phlebotomist and customer experience. Day 1 Tr. at 188:12–15. Quest hoped to improve the phlebotomist experience by reducing paperwork and data entry tasks. Carr Decl. ¶ 2; Grant Decl. ¶ 4. Quest also hoped it would reduce wait time for patients. Day 1 Tr. at 121:11–12, 193:2–3. Quest likewise wanted to address privacy concerns patients had raised regarding the paper sign-in sheets, and help reduce patient anxiety and dissatisfaction by informing them where they were in the queue. Day 1 Tr. at 119:20–25, 120:1–3, 121:20–24. In April 2016, Quest chose to install one or more electronic, touchscreen tablets to allow patients to check in at PSCs. FPTCO ¶ 5(e). The tablets, which were Apple iPads, when placed in plastic casings (provided by a corporation called Lilitab) and mounted on posts, were known as “Kiosks.” FPTCO ¶ 5(e). The Kiosks were intended to replace the existing paper sign-in sheets. Day 1 Tr. at 191:3– 6. D. Original Kiosk The first Kiosk that was deployed to the PSCs during the 2016–2019 time period (the “Original Kiosk”) contained no tactile markings and had no text-to-speech output. FPTCO ¶ 5(f). Users were prompted to check in by entering a first and last name, birthday, and phone number. Yarrison Decl. ¶ 8. PSC staff endeavored to honor appointment times, regardless of what time the patient checked in, but patients without appointments were placed in a queue to be served. Id. The Kiosk also had a help button, although it was a touchscreen help button that was not useable by blind patients. Day 2 Tr. at 121:5–10. The help button set off a “doorbell” for phlebotomists, although phlebotomists could (and still can) turn it off if they did not like it. Day 1 Tr. at 85:5–10. Quest worked to ensure that the Kiosks satisfied physical design standards for self- service kiosks, including ensuring all operable parts were within “reach range” of a person using a wheelchair and that the Kiosks could be detected by blind individuals using canes. Yarrison Decl. ¶ 9; see also Day 1 Tr. at 165:4–8. Quest was offered versions of the Kiosk that included audio capabilities, and one member of the design team raised the possibility that audio capabilities might help with accessibility for visually impaired patients, but Quest did not select a Kiosk with a headphone jack. Ex. 7; Day 1 Tr. at 61:1–6. The parties agree that the Original Kiosks could not be used by blind patients without phlebotomist assistance. 1. Phlebotomist Assistance Yarrison testified that Quest “always knew that people would need help checking in, just like they did with the paper sign-in, and [Quest’s] phlebotomists helped them and assisted them with that.” Day 1 Tr. at 77:14–17. The leaders of the project design team, Christopher Grant and Taylor Carr, testified that Quest expected the reduction in paperwork to increase the amount of time phlebotomists spent with patients, including the amount of time they spent in waiting rooms. Grant Decl. ¶¶ 4–5; Carr Decl. ¶ 2; Day 2 Tr. at 118:20–22; see also Yarrison Decl. ¶ 12. In fact, the Kiosks did reduce transaction time for each patient. See Day 1 Tr. at 193:8–10. The Kiosks were also intended to allow Quest to increase the number of patients it saw each year without hiring more phlebotomists. Day 1 Tr. at 127:13–22. Quest says seeing more patients would mean phlebotomists were in the waiting room more frequently, not less frequently. See Carr Decl. ¶ 6; Grant Decl. ¶ 5. The project rollout did not call for a reduction in staffing at PSCs. Day 1 Tr. at 136:6; 163:7–10.2 Quest has long trained phlebotomists in the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the general need to be sensitive to the particular needs, including disabilities, of Quest patients. See, e.g., Ex. 163 (pre-Kiosk mandatory annual training providing general ADA information); see also id. at 9 (instructing that phlebotomists should “assist [blind] individuals to the collection room,” “maintain a steady stream of verbal communication with the patient,” and “always

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Julian Vargas v. Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc., (C.D. Cal. 2023).

Julian Vargas v. Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc. (Julian Vargas v. Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

PGA Tour, Inc. v. Martin
532 U.S. 661 (Supreme Court, 2001)
Oliver v. Ralphs Grocery Co.
654 F.3d 903 (Ninth Circuit, 2011)
Robin Fortyune v. American Multi-Cinema, Inc.
364 F.3d 1075 (Ninth Circuit, 2004)
Molski v. M.J. Cable, Inc.
481 F.3d 724 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
Baughman v. Walt Disney World Company
685 F.3d 1131 (Ninth Circuit, 2012)
Skaff v. Meridien North America Beverly Hills, LLC
506 F.3d 832 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
Kimberly O'Connor v. Scottsdale Healthcare Corporat
582 F. App'x 695 (Ninth Circuit, 2014)
Mark Tauscher v. Phoenix Bd. of Realtors, Inc.
931 F.3d 959 (Ninth Circuit, 2019)
Daniel Lopez v. Catalina Channel Express, Inc.
974 F.3d 1030 (Ninth Circuit, 2020)
O'Connor v. Scottsdale Healthcare Corp.
871 F. Supp. 2d 900 (D. Arizona, 2012)