Wheelchair repairs can drag out for months. In Mass., people with disabilities seek a solution.
By Jason Laughlin Globe Staff,Updated October 22, 2023, 4:35 p.m.
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The problem keeping wheelchair users in limboShare
WATCH: People are waiting months for basic repairs. Reporter Jason Laughlin explains who’s at fault.
Of all the things that could go wrong with his motorized wheelchair, Franklin Pineda-Lopez figured fixing a broken armrest would be “a piece of cake.”
All he needed was a small part that attached the left armrest to the chair’s frame.
That was February 2022. About three months after he reported the failure, National Seating and Mobility (NSM), which had close to $700 million in annual revenue as of June, sent a technician with a new part — but for the wrong armrest. Four months after that, another technician arrived with a part made for manual chairs, also useless.
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At each step, Pineda-Lopez, 33, juggled calls with doctors, MassHealth, and NSM. Most calls to the wheelchair supplier led to a voice mailbox, never to be returned. As months passed, Pineda-Lopez, who [...]