daredevilkink | Discussion/Off-Topic Post #1

It's probably worth it to check out ADA.gov and compare it against the UK equivilant. Do indoor signs have Braille on them? Do ATMs have a headphone jack for audio guidance?
How common are visibly blind people? Is the white cane fairly well recognized? Do employees receive basic training on how to assist disabled customers? What's the hate crime/ harassment rate? Is 'catching fakers' a national past-time like in Italy? Was that police tasering incident a one-off or is it still a concern. Does he have normal legal rights if hospitalized, or is he a 'vulnerable adult'

Is 'catching fakers' a national past-time like in Italy?

whoa whoa, what??

Might also make sense that they'd want to know how the NHS works, in case theythey need medical attention.

From an English perspective, and as a recent London-dweller (currently living in Manchester), I can answer a few of these:
The equivalent to the ADA is probably stuff like the public sector equality duty: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/equality-act-2010-guidance and this unexciting document on building planning regarding disability: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/7776/156681.pdf
Frankly, I'm not sure it's as firm as it is in the US, given the amount of places that don't have braille signs or ramps.

HOWEVER, the vast majority of ATMs that are attached to banks (rather than other shops) will have an audio jack, and they're being slowly rolled out across the country.
In a big city like London, I used to see a person with a noticeable visual impairment every couple of days or so, slightly less now I'm out of London. And yes, the white cane is well recognised.

Bigger public sector organisations, and all government (both central government and local government) should have trained front line employees on assisting customers with disabilities, but you can't guarantee it. Companies are a law unto themselves, but most of the bigger companies can be safely assumed to be decent at this training. (Please, if anyone has more experience, do correct me.)

Hate crime rates are hard to identify- I don't think they're broken down by impairment type as far as I know.

If hospitalised, Matt isn't registered as a vulnerable adult, so he'd be treated as any other adult, albeit with a little more support. Please note that he'd have to pay for any medical treatment, as he's not a UK resident, hopefully covered by travel insurance. More info here: http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/AboutNHSservices/uk-visitors/visiting-england/Pages/visitors-from-outside-the-eea.aspx

More info:
https://www.gov.uk/rights-disabled-person
http://www.visitbritain.com/en/Transport/Getting-to-Britain/Getting-to-Britain-with-access-or-disabled-needs.html

Visa: https://www.gov.uk/standard-visitor-visa

Please also note that if practicing law over here (as part of a UK firm, not just on a US case), they would be known as solicitors (the term attorney fell out of use in mid-19th century then was abolished), and I'm fairly certain Matt and Foggy would effectively need to re-qualify through the Solicitors Regulation Authority. I've tried to find a quick answer to what that would entail, but no luck, so I'd appreciate anyone who has further knowledge!

Hope that's helpful to someone!

Discussion/Off-Topic Post #1

Re: Thoughts on the UK?

Re: Thoughts on the UK?

Re: Thoughts on the UK?

Re: Thoughts on the UK?