Disabled man wins landmark case against Scottish hotel

A disabled man has won £3,000 damages in a landmark legal case against a Scottish hotel for failing to provide adequate disabled access.

In the first case to go to court under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Isaac Curran took Redstones hotel in Uddingston, Lanarkshire to court for not taking adequate measures to ensure reasonable changes had been made to facilitate disabled access.

Curran was originally offered a £50 voucher by the hotel owner but has now been awarded £3,000 in compensation and his £2,000 legal expenses paid, after taking the case to court.

Yesterday Curran told The Herald newspaper: “Disabled access is not something I take for granted but this is a big company which can afford to make the changes needed. They could have done it for a couple of thousand pounds. Now it has cost them a lot more.”

During his visit to the hotel, for a relative’s birthday lunch, Curran had to be carried into the property as there was no ramp, the dining room was located up five flights of stairs and the only disabled toilet was in the ladies.

The hotel has now applied for planning permission to improve its disabled access.

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By Emily Manson

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