It will soon be safer to live with a disability in Los Angeles, but it took a two-year court battle to do it.

Earlier this month, a federal judge ordered the city to address gaps in its emergency preparedness plans that leave approximately 800,000 disabled residents unprotected in emergency situations, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“Because of the city's failure to address their unique needs, individuals with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to harm in the event of an emergency or disaster,” U.S. District Court Judge Consuelo B. Marshall ruled, according to the article.

The plight of the disabled during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita prompted the class-action suit, filed in 2009 by Los Angeles resident Audrey Harthorn and the disability rights group Communities Actively Living Independent and Free, according to the Associated Press.

An examination of Los Angeles’ emergency operations plan indicated that city’s disabled residents could be equally compromised. Among the issues not addressed by the existing plan are access to emergency shelters, transportation and evacuation assistance, and medication storage and dispensation at shelters, according to a press release.

Although city attorneys argued that gaps in the plan should be filled by the American Red Cross, as well as “personal preparedness,” Judge Marshall gave L.A. three weeks from her February 10 ruling to meet with the plaintiffs and craft a plan, according to the Times.

Shawna Parks, of the Disability Rights Legal Center, which helped represent the plaintiffs, told the Times she expected the case to set a standard for other communities.

“It was the first case that's addressed it,” she said. “It sets a precedent that makes a lot of other jurisdictions pay attention.”