Dear QUAD_list members, I got my C500 this Monday and I started to use it this morning.
I noticed a problem at the right side rear cast wheel that you fixed. As the wheelchair accelerates the rear wheel right side moves side to side (like a shopping cart wheel) very fast when the chair goes at the high speed. The wheel moves side to side so fast that it may cause the chair to fall to the side of the chair that the wheel is located on. Isn't it still definely a lemon wheelchair as I said before? And I emailed to Permobil the letter from the airline as below. I asked them to answer to two of my questions, but they didn't answer yet. Therefore I want to consult the law community. --------------------------------- The Permobil, The airline described how they treated my C500 at the attached letter. In order to summarize the whole story, I attached related letters also. Now it is your turn to answer to my question. 1. Do you still insist that your product had no deficiency and the airline broke the electric connection? 2. Explain how the same problem happened twice more at my hotel room even if nobody touched. Please give me answer ASAP. If you don’t take any responsibility on my loss without any reasonable answer, you should be responsible on the results from your response including no-response. I hope you are not a lemon company. I don’t want to spend my effort on this problem. Give me a very clear answer to my question. Then I will take my reaction depending on your answer. ------------------------------- This is the answer from the airline company. ---------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Jongbae Kim We, Asiana Airlines would like to show plenty of gratitude for your endurance while you have been waiting a letter from us on how your powerful mobility aid,Permobile-made electric wheelchair had been controlled and managed in the whole phases of your previous travel from Sanfrancisco to Seoul,Korea with us on Feb 11th 2006. In retrospect you wanted to drive your own electric wheelchair to the boarding gate and you gave kind instruction to our employees several times on how to operate it and what extent of attention and precaution should be adopted on every move in spite of the fact that our employee had already been accustomed to move and load various models of electric wheelchairs from their former experiences. As you saw when you had to deposit the valuable device with us in front of boarding gate of our plane, one of our four member squad, under special and constant supervision of our station manager in charge of our Sanfrancisco branch office drove it to the nearest elevator going down to the tarmac because the staircases just beside the boarding gate was not accessible to the vehicle. There was no uneven pavement on the way to the plane. After reaching below the plane our baggage handlers were deployed at four corners of a loading machine which is usually used to lift containers from the bottom to the inside of cargo compartment to secure the stability of the machine in case of any kind of mechanic disorder caused by the loader movement. With the four men mobilized to see the lifting action carefully and cautiously there was no undesirable accident until the wheelchair of tremendous price was anchored in the exact middle of the cargo space without hindrance of any other baggage or objects beside it. For the last step they unplugged a power line from dry battery by which the wheelchair moves, as directed by the owner to prevent unintended maneuver, if any. Upon arrival of the flight at Incheon International Airport, Korea when our baggage handlers tried to move also as directed by the owner but at that time the expensive machine showed disobedient reaction to the very owner’s operation attempt. After some minutes of difficult time to wake up the machine you succumbed. Finally we determined to push the wheelchair from the arriving gate to the baggage claim area where we could seek the assistance of airport maintenance crew who helped move the tricky machine. He made it. Summarizing all the varying factors and circumstances in regard to the transportation of your electric wheelchairs by air, we are suspicious that the mobility enabling machine might have some critical defects or faulty parts which should not be found because it is related to the owner’s life. Even under more harsh operational conditions such as muddy road,dusty area and cobblestones the machine is expected to move with freedom and to protect the owner with its robust body. Therefore in such stable and clean condition as aircraft cargo compartment it must be 100% guaranteed that the wheelchair move after arrival as normally as before loading. We can be lavish in employing compassion with your predicament but it will be irreasonable to assume liability for the malfunction of the electric wheelchair. Thank you for reading our descriptions on the condition of air transportation of your valuable wheelchair on our flight. 2006.6.27 Asiana Airlines Incheon International Airport Lost & Found department Manager Song Shi Il -------------------- -----Original Message----- From: Kim, Jong Bae [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 1:34 PM To: David K. Kelmer Cc: [email protected] Subject: RE: [QUAD-L] Damage and loss by malfunction of electric wheelchair Dear Dave and other advisers, Thank you that your advisng to my case. Most of you recommended me to contact a lawyer. I post my recent writing on the wheelchairjunkie.com as follows in order to help you to understand more on my case Thanks a lot Jongbae Kim ________________________________ Quote from Rollbob -------------------- 'You' should have shipped it in a box. No one can touch the chair, no one can break the chair in a shipping container. They make them for about $800.00. -------------------- I agree to Rollbob. My C500 is not eligible to deliver as a luggage. But Permobil and my local provider are sayig still that I can go air-travel with ir normally, without shipping in the box. But, the fact that three malfuctions happenned in recent two air tavels shows that this chair is not eligible for the normal air-travel. Two malfuctions from my trip to San Diego could be from the airline's handling because when I got the wheelchair back at the arrival airport, I was able to see that the wheelkchair position was changed and some parts were disassembled. I know that the airplanes for the domestic flights are usually small and their cargo also small, and the airline luggage workers has difficulties to put the big electric wheelchair like the Permobil chairs into the cargo. They sometimes complained about this job and the departure time was delayed due to their suffering difficuties to load my wheelchair when I was using my old Permobil Entra wheelchair for 5 years. But there has never been this kind of happenings even if I air traveled around more than 10 times. And the first malfuction of my new C500 STANDING WHEELCHAIR at the electric connection on my trip to Korea was different. The airplane of the Asiana Airline's internatiional flight from Sanfransisco to Inchon was huge. And they said that their crews secured my wheelchair in the container and then put the container in the cargo safely. I could not find any evidence that they touched it toughly. When it was delivered to me in front of the entrance of the plain, its appearance was the same as its at San Fransisco. But when I tried to operate the control box, the control panel was blinking and the motor for the wheel didn't work. The LED box under the chair showed the "E2" error code. The worse problem was that the same electric malfuction happenned two times more at the next day and in 15 days and the senior technician of the Korea Permobil branch could not find the reason even if he fixed all of three times. He just tried to take out all connections and put them back. Even if I transfered the airline's statement to the Permobil, the Permobil didn't try to investigate how they delivered my wheelchair and just insisted that the airline was responsible because it happened after it was delivered. It doesn't make sense. If they want to refute the airline's statement, they need to investigate whether the airline's statement makes sense or not. Therefore I am so angry about the Permobil's attitude. Is their product perfectly Zero-Defect? No! It cannot be so! Then, how are they insisting that only the airline is responsible without any refutable evidence. If the airline companies have to take responsibilities on every wheelchair's malfuctions even though they tried their best to deliver safely by puting the chair in the box as Rollbob pointed, which airlines want to take the wheelchair users? If they have to do so, every airline will refuse the wheelchair user's boarding with their own wheelchair. I know the airline is likely to break the weelchair well. I also have experienced it serveral times. The airplane manufacturer must exert their effors to make the accessible airplane. And until they do, the airline company as well as the wheelchair manufacturer should do their best to reduce their client's difficulties. The wheelchair manufacturer shoud make a guideline namual for the airplane luggage worker to maniplate their product for the safe airplane shippng. Anyway, the electric connection's malfuction on my trip to Korea had the different story. The Permobil might know I have no money to buy a good lawyer to fight against them. I appreciate the Southall's recommendation. I will try to contact my university's law school. Thanks a lot, all of you. Jongbae Kim ________________________________ From: David K. Kelmer [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 2006-06-13 (화) 오후 3:03 To: Kim, Jong Bae Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Damage and loss by malfunction of electric wheelchair Hi Jong Bae, It sounds like you have had both financial loses along with physical loses because of your chair, and since neither the chair maker or airline are helping, I would advise seeking legal counsel. With Love, CtrlAltDel aka Dave C4/5 Complete - 30 Years Post Texas, USA "Kim, Jong Bae" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Dear Quad_List Members I have suffered terrible agonies since I used my new purchased Permobil C500 electric wheelchair around Feb. 10th. This wheelchair has special seat functions of standing, reclining, and elevating and its price is over $40,000. Please read this email string from the bottom email. At February, it was out of order three times at the same electric connection after I arrived at Seoul, Korea. The Permobil exchanged the electric wire before my trip to San Diego. But the seat did come down from the standing position at the hotel lobby of San Diego and the rear cast wheel was broken at Pittsburgh. I suffered lots of difficulties from new wheelchair’s malfunctions. But the Permobil always insists that they have no responsibility on these problems and the airline must be responsible. I don’t think so. The problems can be from the wheelchair’s deficiency. The Permobil wheelchair is not perfect. Their product also might have deficiencies. They didn’t investigate how the airline manipulated it. The airline also answered that they manipulated it very carefully and did not damaged any parts of wheelchair. I cannot understand how they insist that they are not responsible for the malfunction and only the airline is without any evidence. At Korea, the same electric problem happened three times. And Permobil replaced the electric wire before my trip to San Diego. If they can be totally confident with their product, why did they change it? I can not use it for my air travel any more. Air travel is one of my important activities. But my new C500 is not eligible for air travel because I had severe problems every time I air traveled. But Permobil did not say to me that it is not eligible for air travel when they sell it to me. I have the consumer’s right to return it if it is not working for my purpose of purchasing it. And I have the consumer’s right to ask the compensation for my spiritual damage and business loss from their product’s deficiency. But they don’t want to take any responsibility. They don’t want to reimburse my repair fee at Korea nor compensate my damage and loss. Moreover, they don’t even allow the return. I spoiled my trip and business by the malfunction of 1 month old brand new very expensive wheelchair. Why do I have to endure all these agonies even if they are not from my mistake but from the wheelchair’s malfunction? Because I am a quadriplegic guy, do I have to accept all these problems as my fate? Because I was paralyzed below my chest with C5 spinal chord injury, I need an electric wheelchair with high functional options and this kind of electric wheelchair is considered as a part of my body. When this wheelchair is out of order, I cannot move at all and do anything until it is fixed because that kind of wheelchair is a customer fitting wheelchair and I cannot use other regular electric wheelchair. If this wheelchair stops on the street, there is no way to transfer to other mobility device and I should be stuck in the hell. Do we have to accept all these hell pains as my fate because I have a disabled body? Please read my arguments against this wheelchair company, Permobil, to understand my miserable sufferings. I am so angry because they want to evade their responsibility by insisting the airline company is responsible without any evidence of airline’s wrong manipulation. For the people with disabilities, the assistive technology is so important factor for them to live their quality life. However, the wheelchair company is not responsible as much on their product’s liability even if they sold a very expensive mobility device as the automobile company who sells less expensive cars. My new purchased Permobil C500 electric wheelchair costs as much as a luxury car such as Benz and Lexus. But they don’t take responsibility on their product’s deficiency for their consumers with disabilities as Benz and Lexus do for their customer. People with disabilities have also the same right of consumer protection for their mobility devices as car customers have the strong consumer protection right for the automobile. Therefore I think the wheelchair company’s lack of sense of responsibility is a kind of discrimination again people with disabilities. If their customer was not disabled, they probably could not have been so. It is why I want to discuss with quadriplegic peers in this discussion group. Please help me to advise how to fight against them. Thanks. Very truly yours, Jongbae Kim University of Pittsburgh [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Dept of Rehabilitation Science and Technology School of Health and Rehabilitation Science 2310 Jane Street, Suite 1300 Pittsburgh, PA 15203 <http://maps.yahoo.com/py/maps.py?Pyt=Tmap&addr=2310+Jane+Street%2C+Suite+1300&csz=Pittsburgh%2C+PA+15203&country=us> tel: 412-586-6909 fax: 412-586-6910 mobile: 412-580-0967
