JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The mother of two daughters diagnosed with spastic cerebral palsy filed a lawsuit against the Jacksonville Housing Authority (JHA) after she said the agency failed to install a wheelchair ramp despite making several requests.
The lawsuit was filed on July 11 by Makeeda Ismael, the mother of the two sisters, one of whom is a minor. According to the complaint, Ismael’s daughters need a wheelchair to get around, are non-verbal, and they are “substantially impaired in many daily life activities,” such as not being able to bathe or dress themselves.
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In October 2024, Ismael and her four children moved to the Southwind Villas apartment complex on Newton Street, a property owned and managed by the JHA.
The lawsuit states that shortly after moving in, Ismael verbally requested the property manager and the assistant property manager to install a ramp to the unit, as there are two steps that cannot be navigated by someone in a wheelchair.
The mother was told that a ramp would be installed, according to the lawsuit.
Days passed, and the ramp had not been installed, the lawsuit says. She followed up with her request via email, but said she did not hear back from the property managers.
The lawsuit goes on to say Ismael continued her requests for the ramp, and at some point, was able to get in contact with one of the managers at JHA. But he then stopped responding to her texts and calls.
According to Ismael, the last time she spoke with that manager, he said the ramp was being put “out to bid” to be installed in March or April.
Once April came and a ramp had not been installed, Ismael made a formal complaint to the Department of Housing and Urban Development that included the “failure to install a ramp to her unit as a reasonable modification,” the lawsuit says.
On May 23, Ismael renewed her request to have a wheelchair installed, and after following up several times, Ismael got a response on June 25.
According to the lawsuit, counsel for JHA stated that “JHA is now putting the construction piece out to bid,” and said it would provide an estimated completion date.
However, the lawsuit says that as of July 11, no ramp had been installed, nor had Ismael been provided with a start date or completion date.
“Ms. Ismael has to drag her daughters in their wheelchairs up and down the stairs to the unit each time they come and go,” the lawsuit says.
According to Ismael’s attorney, one of the sisters’ wheelchairs was damaged while trying to drag it up the steps to the unit and she had to miss school while the chair was being repaired.
“Ms. Ismael is distressed and fears for her daughters’ safety should she need to get them out of the unit in an emergency,” the lawsuit says.
Ismael’s lawsuit lists several requests, including the JHA to “immediately” provide a wheelchair ramp and for the jury to award compensatory damages to Ismael and her daughters for injuries caused by the failure to accommodate her request.
“Ms. Ismael feels depressed, isolated, and alone as she tries to cope with the blatant disregard by JHA of the safety and needs of her family by its failure to install the needed wheelchair ramp,” her attorney wrote.
Click here to read the full complaint
News4JAX reached out to JHA for comment on the lawsuit, and we are still waiting to hear back.