David Rocco of Allendale claims the jail and prison healthcare provider Corizon violated his rights.
HACKENSACK - A former jail inmate who is hearing impaired has sued Bergen County, claiming jailers and medical staff violated his rights by failing to address his medical issues.
David Rocco, 47, of Allendale, says staff at the Bergen County Jail and jail healthcare provider, Corizon, failed to provide "appropriate and reasonable auxiliary aids" to ensure the inmate could communicate with his attorneys, family and medical staff.
In addition to deafness, Rocco claims he is a kidney transplant recipient and has other conditions that require him to communicate with others about his treatment and diet.
Rocco, 47, was arrested May 21, 2014 by Allendale police and charged with lewdness, according to the lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month in U.S. District Court.
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The lawsuit claims Bergen County and Corizon discriminated against Rocco in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which states that government entities cannot exclude the disabled from receiving benefits of services, programs or activities.
About two weeks after his arrest, Rocco claims he was transported to the jail "where he was classified and incarcerated without a qualified sign language interpreter present."
The lawsuit claims medical staff treated Rocco "without interpreters and the ability to effectively communicate."
Rocco "remained extremely upset as he struggled to understand what was happening throughout his incarceration," the lawsuit states. "In addition, there were no videophones that plaintiff could use to contact his family or his attorney as all other non-disabled inmates could."
The lawsuit claims jailers and medical staff failed to "provide any reasonable accommodation" for the deaf inmate throughout his incarceration from June 6 to Dec. 12, 2014.
After his arrest, Rocco's sister, Cynthia, along with medical staff at Bergen Hypertension and Renal Associates contacted the jail via fax and letter seeking interpreters for Rocco. The requests were denied, according to the lawsuit.
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The lawsuit claims jail records contain several requests for interpreters but that jailers and medical staff refused or ignored all requests.
In addition to unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, the suit seeks to end the jail's alleged discrimination against "deaf or hard-of-hearing inmates" and to ensure policies and procedures are set in place to accommodate deaf inmates.
Bergen County officials did not respond to requests for comment.
Rocco's attorney, Clara R. Smit of Hamilton, did not return a call seeking comment.
Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.