Disabled passenger hurt while alighting EMT service

[Timothy Turtle]

I would assume the wheelchair has got brakes. I know little of unloading wheelchairs, but I would have thought that the user would assist by applying the brakes to enable a slow decent down the ramp?

It depends on the type of wheelchair. On my wife's wheelchair only the person pushing/pulling can apply the brakes.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

One thing occurs to me and I am surprised nobody else has mentioned it ( unless I've missed it ) - this could have been much more serious considering that platform 13 is one half of a narrow island platform which, for the majority of the length, does not have an obstruction like metal seats into which a runaway wheelchair could crash.

 

[Clip]

I do feel rrry for the bloke I really do. I have family members in chairs and at times I've let go downhill which didn't get me any brownie points and doing assistance over the years its always been I. The back of my mind but as one plaster said, you are told to go down backwards so this doesn't happen.

Feel sorry for the guard here to as they must have been mortified by it.

The chair itself doesn't look to have handle brakes either just one to keep it in place so no doubt t this co tributes to it.

Yes peter it could've been more serious but it wasn't.

 

[northwichcat]

Some of the comments in the article are nasty, but others correctly point out that the gentleman doesn't have any "huge bruises" visible in the supplied photo. It's no wonder people are throwing the compo card at him.

I imagine they'll be on his legs based on the description of the incident. Would a newspaper photographer really ask a disabled man to remove his trousers for the photo?!
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Possibilities:

[*]The guard did say something, but it wasn't heard (as that doesn't make a good story

Or a member of platform staff got to the passenger first and the embarrassed guard decided to get on with putting the ramp away.

 

[AlterEgo]

I imagine they'll be on his legs based on the description of the incident. Would a newspaper photographer really ask a disabled man to remove his trousers for the photo?!

The photographer has supplied two photos here, one with the trousers rolled down and one with them rolled up. Why else would this be if it wasn't to show the injuries?

You can certainly understand the cynicism.

 

[LowLevel]

Of course whether it actually involved the train guard is another matter - passengers have a habit of calling everyone 'guards'. It should be Network Rail staff at Piccadilly but passenger assistance at the large North West stations is notoriously rubbish at communicating with each other/turning up in good time.

Either way whoever was doing it shouldn't be going down a ramp forwards as braking with your legs is the only safe way to do it without a) risking your back by having to pull hard with your upper body to provide a brake and b) to remove the risk of a runaway or the front wheels turning and going over the side. Same as on a barrow crossing - always backwards.

If a passenger refuses to go down backwards then I refuse to assist.