Motorized Wheelchair Scooter Causes Serious Injury Allegedly Due to Insufficient Instructions

Case Overview

This case involves a woman that ordered a motorized scooter to aid in her mobility. The plaintiff’s legs were injured in a car accident and she ordered a motorized scooter to assist her in moving around. When the scooter arrived, there was a representative that came to demonstrate how to operate the machine. The representative had never demonstrated the product himself. He told the plaintiff to take it through the hall, and from wood flooring to a carpeted area. As the woman attempted to follow the representative’s instructions, the change in the surface, coupled with the scooter’s speed, caused the scooter to lurch, which propelled the plaintiff from the scooter. The plaintiff seriously injured both of her arms.

Questions to the Workplace Safety expert and their responses

Was the company negligent in its instructions on how to operate the machine properly?

The circumstances presented seem to suggest some degree of negligence on the part of the company. Other factors like the company’s training program for representatives, the exact instructions offered, and any cases of similar incidents would all factor into examining the company’s potential negligence.

About the expert

This expert has over six years of multi-disciplinary design and research experience for various academic, hospital, and business settings. He has managed multiple facets of large scale engineering product development from research and design, through tooling and manufacturing, to product launch. In his current position, he develops rehabilitation seating systems with concern for user-experience, insurance funding and reimbursement, and manufacturing capability.