Preventable Wheelchair-related Thermal Injury

A man with tetraplegia experienced a wheelchair malfunction where the armrest disconnected, leaving him stranded in the sun. Due to limited mobility, he couldn't reach the controls and suffered full thickness sunburns on his left forearm and deep partial thickness burns on his left fingertips from contact with the hot, black armrest. The burns could have been prevented with a hands-free communication system to alert caregivers in case of such malfunctions.

• 1
  Wheelchair malfunctions can lead to serious injuries, such as thermal burns, especially for individuals with limited mobility.
• 2
  The black color of the wheelchair armrests may have contributed to the severity of the burns due to increased surface temperature.
• 3
  Hands-free communication systems could prevent similar injuries by enabling users to call for help when a malfunction occurs.