Disabled man slams Qantas after they damaged his wheelchair
An Australian man has called out Qantas for damaging his wheelchair during a flight, and then offering him a slim compensation package that wouldn't cover the cost of the repair.
Queensland wheelchair athlete Timothy Lachlan was travelling from the USA to Sydney when he claims Qantas luggage handlers broke his wheelchair as it was being loaded onto the plane.
Like many Australians living with a disability, Lachlan described his wheelchair as "his legs".
"This wheelchair is basically my legs — Qantas has basically broken my legs," he told 7News of the custom chair he's owned for more than a decade.
"If you go up the slightest incline, the chair just tips back."
Lachlan now can no longer use the chair and says the saga has cost him work as an occupational therapist. He's currently borrowing a friend's chair to get around and says though he did try to fix his chair, he wasn't able due to the extent of the damage.
He was then locked in a bitter compensation battle with the airline for several months, which resulted in Lachlan being offered a mere $3,500, which he claims won't "even cover a set of wheels", let alone repair the entire chair.
As part of the settlement agreement, which was described by Lachlan as a "signed confidential settlement", he claims he was forced to stay quiet about the amount he was offered by the airline.
However, instead of staying quiet, he decided to do the opposite and call out the airline, which has taken a large hit to its reputation in recent years.
In a statement provided to Yahoo News Australia, a Qantas spokesperson said they "sincerely apologise to Mr Lachlan for the damage caused to his wheelchair".
"We have offered him compensation and are waiting to hear back," a spokesperson said.
Lachlan said he would like the incident to serve as a reminder to Qantas, and airlines in general, to be more respectful when it comes to transporting mobility aids.
"I am more than happy to meet with them, I invite the CEO of Qantas to jump in this chair and tell me it doesn't need to be replaced," he said.
Image credits: 7News