Having just bought my daughter her second Invacare chair, I emailed
Invacare to ask about the report. Will let you know what I find.
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From: St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Magenta Raine
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2001 12:49 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fwd: [berkeley-disabled] WARNING: DO NOT BUY INVACARE POWER
CHAIRS
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Hey, did any of you know this???
Mag
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<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>Hey, did any of you know
this???
<BR>
<BR>Mag </FONT></HTML>
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Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 12:44:09 EDT
Subject: Fwd: [berkeley-disabled] WARNING: DO NOT BUY INVACARE POWER
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Date: Sun, 15 Jul 2001 01:57:58 -0700
Subject: [berkeley-disabled] WARNING: DO NOT BUY INVACARE POWER CHAIRS
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Unless you want to stay real close to home, don't buy an Invacare power
chair. Invacare does not intend for people with disabilities to stay in
their wheelchairs while being transported in a motor vehicle. That was
the
response I received when I asked if tie down anchor points, like those
on
my Permobil, were available on Invacare's Arrow Storm Front Wheel Drive
wheelchair, .
Tonya Rodriguez, a customer service rep, sent this reply to my email
inquiry:
"The Arrow Storm has not been crash tested, therefore, we do not
recommend
that an individual be transported in a moving vehicle while in the
chair."
When I telephoned Invacare to verify or clarify this issue, I was told
that
none of Invacare's chairs should be occupied while being transported in
a
moving vehicle. In fact, according to the customer service rep on the
phone, many state's are working on legislation to prohibit people with
disabilities from doing so.
If they really believe it is unsafe to ride in any of their chairs while
in
a moving vehicle, they should warn people. It should be in their
literature
and on their website. The reason they don't is that no one would buy a
chair they couldn't use to go anywhere.
Obviously, this is Invacare's way of attempting to limit their liability
in
potential lawsuits. They know that people in wheelchairs are riding
public
transportation, paratransit, and private lift-equipped vans. Many of us
could not transfer to a regular vehicle seat if we wanted to and
Invacare
knows it. Even if people were transferred into regular seats, it is
still
not safe to ride with unsecured wheelchairs that could become large
projectiles during an accident. If they really want to limit liability
and
provide more safety, they should install tie down anchor points on the
frame to provide a safe, easy, and secure place for vehicle tie-down
straps
to be fastened. Permobil has this option.
I wonder if Medicare/Medicaid will want to keep buying Invacare's chairs
when they find out that they are not even safe to take on paratransit to
the doctor.
Mark
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