Disability Activist dies after United Airlines destroyed her wheelchair

[Jwheel86]

Disability activist dies after United Airlines destroyed her custom wheelchair

WWW.NEWSWEEK.COM

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"Mobility devices are an extension of our bodies. When they are damaged or destroyed, we become re-disabled," Engracia Figueroa said in July.

 

This is why the disability community has been fighting for this:

 

[DarkStar189]

Sad story. It takes a lot of trust to put a $30k custom wheelchair into the hands of an airline. Its in no way her fault and the airline should have paid up right away. But years ago we couldn't even fly to Florida without the airline losing our luggage. They delivered it to our hotel 3 days later. And most planes I've been on wouldn't come close to being able to fit a wheelchair through the doors and into the aisle. People with bad medical conditions like her almost need custom planes for that video to work. 

[Linda Manka]

 I am sorry that this happened to Mrs. Figueroa. This incident also happened to us on American Airlines in June 3021. We were headed from Corpus Christi to Dallas to Las Vegas. When we arrived at Dallas there was no one to take us to the flight to Las Vegas at the Dallas Airport. My family had to run as fast as they could to get to the American Airlines going to Las Vegas. When we got on the plane which was leaving in two minutes it was completely full of 500 passengers. I had to go 20 seats down which everyone was watching me. Both of my knees need surgery.  On the flight back home, the same thing happened. The flight attendant tell me in Dallas that I would have to get on the plane or wait for my wheelchair that both could not happen . She guarantee that my wheelchair would be with me in Corpus Christi. When we arrived at Corpus Christi, no wheelchair it was left back in Dallas. I did not receive my wheelchair for a couple days. The wheels were going erratic and not straight. They promised me a new wheelchair in 2 weeks. I did not receive a new wheelchair until October. Life from June till October was horrific. 

[unogueen]

Pressure ulcers are no joke. As someone who spent some time studying nursing, most have no clue what a wonderful clusterfuck of precarious your life is.

[Xbob42]

Sounds like shit that should be mandated by federal/state law (whichever is more strict) like for things such as wheelchair ramps and handicap parking, rather than some flimsy ass set of rules the airline sets as they try to eke out every last cent. They should've made proper accommodations and made sure that wheelchair got special treatment, or, in the event they couldn't, denied her her flight citing concerns for her safety and their inability to adequately guarantee the safety of her without her custom chair during the flight and of course the chair itself in their shitty 2-bit storage.

 

I feel like in a lot of comments I've seen about this, the infuriating response of "well of course, airlines suck at doing literally anything" is used as an unironic response that should somehow justify this nonsense or shift the blame towards her rather than as a reason to absolutely fucking slam these sleezeballs until they start to give a shit.

[Jwheel86]

1 hour ago, Xbob42 said:

Sounds like shit that should be mandated by federal/state law (whichever is more strict) like for things such as wheelchair ramps and handicap parking, rather than some flimsy ass set of rules the airline sets as they try to eke out every last cent. They should've made proper accommodations and made sure that wheelchair got special treatment, or, in the event they couldn't, denied her her flight citing concerns for her safety and their inability to adequately guarantee the safety of her without her custom chair during the flight and of course the chair itself in their shitty 2-bit storage.

 

I feel like in a lot of comments I've seen about this, the infuriating response of "well of course, airlines suck at doing literally anything" is used as an unironic response that should somehow justify this nonsense or shift the blame towards her rather than as a reason to absolutely fucking slam these sleezeballs until they start to give a shit.

 

$30k is a pretty common price for most powerchairs (that's what mine cost). Most of my disabled friends who fly with similar chairs report that their chairs get broken in someway 50% of the time. I'm thinking about flying to SF this summer and this is the one logistical concern I have. 

 

This guy has my exact disability and chair, I don't know what the fuck they did to it. 

 

[brucoe]

On 11/6/2021 at 9:12 AM, Linda Manka said:

 When we arrived at Corpus Christi,  

That's the first time I've ever heard anyone else mention Corpus Christi, the place where I live. Up until now, I was convinced I lived in a fantasy land that didn't really exist.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, brucoe said:

That's the first time I've ever heard anyone else mention Corpus Christi, the place where I live. Up until now, I was convinced I lived in a fantasy land that didn't really exist.

Goooo Hooks!

[Jwheel86]

Progress? 

 

[CitizenVectron]

Make a section at the front of first class for wheelchairs/similar mobility devices so that the aisles don't need to be wider (which is one of the issues, as I understand it).

[SuperSpreader]

1 hour ago, CitizenVectron said:

Make a section at the front of first class for wheelchairs/similar mobility devices so that the aisles don't need to be wider (which is one of the issues, as I understand it).

 

But muh profits