Disability activist Engracia Figueroa died after her custom $30,000 wheelchair was damaged by United Airlines and she was forced to use a replacement, an advocacy group claims.  

The group Hand in Hand published a release on Nov. 3 about Figueroa’s death. According to the group, she represented Hand in Hand in Washington DC at the Care Can’t Wait Rally in July. The group alleges on the flight back from Washington D.C. United Airlines “destroyed Engracia’s wheelchair, which was custom-designed to support her spinal cord injury and left leg amputation.”  

As Figueroa and friend Christine Laing waited for hours at the airport, she was forced to sit on a manual wheelchair that the group said was “broken.” As a result, the group alleged she developed a pressure sore which led to acute pain and her admission to the hospital.  

“Instead of replacing the demolished wheelchair, United Airlines insisted that they would only pay to have it repaired,” the group said. “But a motorized wheelchair that has undergone that much damage poses a severe risk of fire, and is unsafe. Furthermore, the loaner chair United provided further exacerbated her injuries.”  

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Hand in Hand went public after the incident and gained attention from national news outlets. This led to Figueroa receiving support from Senator Tammy Duckworth, who reached out to United Airlines about the incident. 

United Airlines finally agreed to fully replace the wheelchair, but Figueroa’s injuries took a drastic turn for the worse. While using a loaner chair, her pressure sore worsened, causing symptoms including muscle spasms, severe edema and additional hospitalizations. Once the sore became infected, it spread to her hip, requiring emergency surgery to remove the infected bone and tissue. Figueroa died on Oct. 31.  

According to ABC News, who spoke to Figueroa when the incident first took place, airlines are obligated to fix or replace damaged or lost wheelchairs under the Air Carrier Access Act. Airlines damaged or lost more than 15,000 wheelchairs and scooters in the last two years, ABC 7 reported. In 2019, they mishandled roughly 29 mobility devices per day. For people living with disabilities, this can be a nightmare.  

Figueroa always said her wheelchair was a part of her. “Mobility devices are an extension of our bodies,” she said. “When they are damaged or destroyed, we become re-disabled. Until the airlines learn how to treat our devices with the care and respect they deserve, flying remains inaccessible.”  

Hand in Hand said Figueroa’s death was “needless,” and they are calling on United Airlines to do better. “This loss should never have happened. While we are reeling from the layers of injustice this tragedy makes visible, we are holding Engracia’s tenacity and resolve as our guidepost. Lives are at stake in the work that we do, and our current ableist and racist system continue to fail our communities this time and time again. We cannot and will not stand by and let these systems of oppression prevail.”  

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