International Day of Persons with Disabilities: inclusion matters

Posted: 30/11/2015

For the last 23 years, United Nations Enable has celebrated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities which falls on 3 December 2015 this year.

The theme of this year’s day is ‘Inclusion Matters: Access and Empowerment for People of All Abilities’. The focus is on inclusion in society for those with physical or mental disabilities and promoting equal access to transport, employment, education and social and political participation for all.

People may suffer from disabilities for all sorts of reasons. The aim of any claim is to recover damages for the client to enable them to purchase the care, support, therapies, aids and equipment they need to maximise their post-injury potential within the context of their disabilities, whether at home, school/college or in a work setting. Clearly, in the case of severe injuries, this may not be possible.

The role of IT and assistive technology cannot be underestimated in this context as it may facilitate movement, communication and participation.

It is important that appropriate experts are instructed to advise on the specific needs of the individual, whether for care, accommodation, equipment, education or assistance in the workplace to ensure that they can participate in society as much as possible.

Alison Appelboam-Meadows, a partner in the clinical negligence yeam at Penningtons Manches, comments: “Disability can be very isolating. It is important that everyone with disabilities, however caused, has access to the support they need to participate and feel included in society.”

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