Rhode Island § 6-61-4 - Right to Consumer Access to Powered Wheelchair Repairs

§ 6-61-4. Consumer access to parts — Self repairs.

(a) For the purpose of providing services for power wheelchair equipment, an original equipment manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable terms and costs, make available, as defined in § 6-61-1, to an independent repair supplier or consumer of the manufacturer’s equipment, manufacturer documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools that are intended for use with the equipment or any part, including updates to documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools.

(b) With respect to power wheelchair equipment that contains an electronic security lock or other security-related function, an original power wheelchair equipment manufacturer shall, with fair and reasonable terms and costs, make available to independent repair suppliers and owners any manufacturer documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools needed to reset the lock or function when disabled in the course of providing services. The manufacturer may make the documentation, parts, embedded software, firmware, or tools available to independent repair suppliers and consumers through appropriate secure release systems.

(c) For powered wheelchairs, consumers can self-repair or have repairs performed by an independent repair supplier. This section shall not apply to any part(s) requiring programmability, calibration, or clinical involvement to ensure appropriate consumer seating and positioning. Items included in this section for powered wheelchairs shall include:

(1) Batteries;

(2) Battery chargers;

(3) Nonprogrammable joysticks;

(4) Joystick housings or brackets;

(5) Wheel assembly;

(6) Non-positioning accessories;

(7) Anti-tip devices;

(8) Armrests, excluding positioning components, designed for adjustment by a therapist or assistive technology professional;

(9) Caster spheres;

(10) Cosmetic shrouding; and

(11) Nonpowered leg lowers.

(d) This chapter does not require an original power wheelchair equipment manufacturer to divulge a trade secret, except as necessary to provide documentation, parts, tools, service access methods, and training courses and materials on fair and reasonable terms. An original equipment manufacturer may redact documentation to remove trade secrets from the documentation before providing access to the documentation if the usability of the redacted documentation for the purpose of providing services is not diminished. An original equipment manufacturer may withhold information regarding a component of, design of, functionality of, or process of developing a part, embedded software, firmware, or a tool if the information is a trade secret and the usability of the part, embedded software, firmware, or tool for the purpose of providing services is not diminished.

(e) An original power wheelchair manufacturer which fails to produce a replacement part because the part is out of stock and the manufacturer is unable to obtain the part, shall not be subject to the penalties as provided in chapter 13.1 of this title if the original equipment manufacturer does the following:

(1) Informs the consumer or independent repair provider that the part is out of stock, and, consequently, the manufacturer is unable to obtain the part; and

(2) Makes the part available to the consumer or independent repair provider within five (5) business days of when the part becomes available.

(f) An original equipment manufacturer is not liable for faulty or otherwise improper repairs provided by independent repair suppliers or owners, including faulty or otherwise improper repairs that cause any of the following:

(1) Damage to a powered wheelchair that occurs during the repairs;

(2) Any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages; or

(3) An inability to use, or a reduced functionality of, a powered wheelchair resulting from faulty or otherwise improper repair.