- Home
-
Report Sections
- Active Military and Veterans
- Animal Welfare
- Appropriations and Funding
- Children, Families & Persons with Disabilities
- Climate Change and Environmental Protection
- Consumer Protection
- Cradle to Career Public Education
- Economic Development, Job Creation and Workers Rights
- Equity, Access to Justice and Civil Rights
- Housing
- Mental Health, Public Health and Health Care
- Public Safety
- Tax Relief
- Transportation
Wheelchair Warranties
Status
Passed by Senate
Bill
An Act expanding wheelchair warranty protections for consumers with disabilities
If a wheelchair breaks, a person who relies on it should not have to wait weeks to get it fixed. The Senate’s bill empowers wheelchair users with the basic consumer protection to having their chair repaired in a timely fashion if it breaks, so individuals can regain mobility as soon as possible.The bill was passed by the Senate on January 4, 2024.
Highlights
- Expands protections to all wheelchairs, not just customized wheelchairs.
- Increases the required manufacturer warranty period from 1 year to 2 years.
- Requires insurers to cover many repairs without prior authorizations.
- Requires manufacturers to assess defective in-warranty wheelchairs within 3 days and provide loaner chairs to most users within 4 days.
"Wheelchair users in Massachusetts with broken chairs can wait weeks or months for repairs because the law today provides inadequate consumer protections in a consolidated, uncompetitive market.
This bill allows wheelchair users to regain their mobility, their independence, and their dignity by requiring timely repair service."
- Senator John J. Cronin (D-Fitchburg)
- Senator John J. Cronin (D-Fitchburg)
