Last post Tue, Apr 29 2008 7:54 PM by DSB. 12 replies.
I live in Coupeville Washington. Last Saturday about noon I was going across one of the busiest street in Coupeville. I headed for the wheelchair "dip" and it was way too high for my power chair. I ended up being thrown from the chair onto the concrete street. Fortunatly a couple of people were passing by who lifted me back up and into my chair but I ended up with a bloody foot, and a sprained (?) back. Does anyone have suggestions what to do about this matter? All the curbs in Coupeville seem to be made the same way (they are about 2 inches thick) and to get from one place to another in the town would have to drive in the street with the traffic. I am not sure who to contact or what to do. Can anyone make suggestions?
Thanks
Start with your City Councilor. Issues like this is waht they are there for. But don't just rely on a phone call. Wrtie him/her a letter but don't foget to copy the local newspaper. Coity Councilors love issues like this. For many of them being a councilor is just a stepping stone to higher office. Solving problems like this can help them. But be prepared to be told that the "dips" (we call them curb cuts) meet ADA requirements and he/she does nothing for you.
Before starting anything, seek out the city's ADA person complaince person. You want to make sure they are in violation. If they are in violation, you got a beef. If not, you might just be SOL.
Good Luck and keep us informed.
Go out with someone and have them take pictures and video, if possible, to take with you to show what you mean. (Do it safely so you don't get thrown again!) Sometimes it's easier to show than tell in a case like this.
Like TriDog says, you need to see if they violate the ADA. (You might need to check more than one curb cut.) Another possibility: the front (anti-tip) wheels of my powerchair are adjustable in height. Maybe you just need to raise yours.
I have a friend in Texas that took on her city for a similiar issue and WON! It was a long, hard battle but a worthy one for her because she traveled those streets every day. I'll try to find out the steps she took but I know it involved meandering around city beaurocracy. Stick to it and let us know your progress.
Sorry about your spill and hopefully you're feeling better!
I swear they have non-disabled people designing wheelchair dips, curbs and such. A restaurant I used to go to when I was still on crutches and in a chair had the curb dip way in the back of the restaurant. When you went there in the winter, you froze your a** off just getting to the door. The curb/sidewalk was too high for me to use with my crutches, so I had to go all the way back to that dip. All the while you were hoping they had put salt down to melt the ice and you weren't going to hit a patch of it.
I have complained to several restaurants, as recently as a month ago, about where their curb dips are located. One Subway restaurant had it right where two buildings met and there was a dip in the roof. There was a huge ice mass right there, right on the curb dip. I don't use a chair anymore, but I didn't want to walk on the ice either. I had to go out into the parking lot to get there. The owner promised me he would do something. I will keep after him.
Fight the good fight and good luck!
This wheelchair is cool-definitely would have come in handy on the streets of Athens. Glad to hear they are more available now and I like the fact I saw workers with disabilities manufacturing them.
Oooooo I want a WhirlWind!
Taking pictures and video of the curb you are speaking about it the best way to prove your point. (Much like the video shown for the WhirlWind, they show how much better their chair is.) You need to show the city council the dangers of this and other curbs. They are going to be responsible for a huge lawsuit from the next person who gets injured from such a fall.
I really got lucky. I mean reallyyyyy lucky. Right after I got my power chair, the county decided to dress up my end of town and put in sidewalks. The boss-man of the crew putting it in saw me and asked if I could test out their wheelchair dips to see if they were okay for wheelchairs and power chairs especially. As he put it, you can see them on the plans, but just how comfortable and accessable are they to a real disabled person? He even let me put my initials in the cement before it dried. Kind of a "Seal Of Approval" by a real wheeler.
PICK UP THE TELEPHONE , THE AMERICAN DISABILITY ACT HAS A TOLL FREE NUMBER , CALL YOUR NEWPAPER EVEN YOUR LOCAL TELEVISON STATION ALSO , YOU WILL A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN A VERY SHORT TIME ! THE OLD SAYING IS VERY TRUE " THE SQUEEKY WHEEL GETS GREASED FRIST " GOOD LOOK RAINEY
There are a couple ways to go about this. First contact your city or county building department. All cities and towns are to have the curb ramps under the ADA. Curb Ramps have specifications as in
The ramp run has the least running slope possible. (On a curb ramp, the running slope is the slope in the direction of pedestrian travel on the ramp run.) [§ 4.8.2]
I would also contact the claimes loss department or lossprevention and turn in a claim for the damges having a non-compliant ramp caused you personally. So take more then one approach is always the best city and counties have two different systems so if the city buliding department will not fix it contact the counity if that also fails contact the state level. Just remember to compare the ramp design against the ADA specifications and remember they cannot mix and match the two sprecifications.
Go figureI forgot to provide a link that explains curb ramps in pretty good common terms from the Dept of Justice http://www.ada.gov/pcatoolkit/chap6toolkit.htm#fn3
