Disabled woman got thrown from her wheelchair when it broke after getting trapped in a dropped kerb

A woman took to social media to share a video (click to play above), after she claims says she was flung from her wheelchair when the wheel broke after getting stuck in a dropped kerb. Abbie McMahon, 25, was enjoying a day out in Cambridge when she tried to cross the road. As she began her descent from a dropped kerb the front wheel of her wheelchair became stuck and snapped off.

‘The wheel breaking off was scary’

Abbie suffered pain along her spine and in her wrist as she hit the ground. She also had to sit by the side of the road for 40 minutes until her mum and sister were able to pick her up. Abbie, a wellbeing coordinator from Soham, Cambridgeshire, said: "The wheel breaking off was scary enough, especially because it meant I was thrown from my chair. As it's a motorised wheelchair, when the wheel got stuck I couldn't lift the front of the chair to un-stick it, so the motor just kept going and the wheel snapped.”

‘I feel like no one cares’

Abbie's experience was made worse as only a handful of people offered to help her as she sat on the ground for 40 minutes. "When I was waiting for my mum, countless people passed me and only a few asked if I needed help. It made me feel like no one actually cares."

In the video, Abbie can be seen on the ground, next to her electric wheelchair, which appears to have a part broken off. While the wheel breaking off was the most obvious damage to the wheelchair, Abbie later realised the frame was also bent. She added: "I was lucky enough to be able to buy some replacement parts for the front wheel, but even with that, you can see the metal frame is bent. The wheels are wonky on the ground and it makes me too nervous to try it again."

Painful condition

Abbie has used a wheelchair for a year now after she developed psoriatic arthritis, a long-term condition that causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness. She also suffers from hypermobility, a syndrome that causes pain and stiffness from having very flexible joints. The wheelchair gave Abbie the freedom to go out and be social again after her health issues left her feeling restricted and isolated.

Council deny responsibility

After the incident, she reached out to Cambridgeshire County Council for an insurance claim. She said: "I put in a highways and an insurance claim into the local council. But I just heard back that they have found they're not responsible so won't be taking any action to help."

The council said Mill Road, the street on which Abbie had her accident, is inspected on a monthly basis. It added that the defect as per Abbie's claim "was not identified as apparent or actionable at the time of the inspection," which had taken place on August 6.

Abbie said: "I just find it difficult to understand how an able-bodied person's inspection can come before my real experience just a couple days later. It makes me feel like my needs as someone who uses a wheelchair just aren't important."

Now that Abbie has received the council's response, she left unsure about how to approach the next stages in the process. Abbie, who has also set up a GoFundMe to pay for a new wheelchair, said: "I am definitely going to speak to citizens advice and appeal it, but I’m not sure what that process will be. When I think about it all I just feel so stressed.":