Man in wheelchair dies in mishap while trying to get home after being told of long wait for taxi

The death of a Hobart man in a wheelchair mishap pointed to the need for improvements to taxi services for disabled patrons, a coroner has found.

a wheelchair

The death of a Hobart man in a wheelchair mishap pointed to the need for improvements to taxi services for disabled patrons, a coroner has found.

Retired fisherman Robert William East, 78, of Rosetta, relied on an electric wheelchair for mobility after losing both legs below the knee.

On March 16, 2022, he spent the afternoon playing the poker machines and drinking beer at the Grenada Tavern, around two kilometres from his home.

At 8pm, he called for a wheelchair-accessible taxi to drive him home, but was told he would face a one-and-a-half hour wait.

After initially agreeing to wait, he cancelled the booking 45 minutes later and set off in his wheelchair.

While travelling along a gravel path, Mr East lost control of his wheelchair and fell down an embankment, where he was found around 10pm.

“Mr East told attending paramedics that his wheelchair lost traction due to recent re-gravelling of the path,” Coroner Olivia McTaggart said.

Coroner Olivia McTaggart.

“It is possible that this is the case but I cannot make a positive finding regarding why he lost control.

“It is also possible that the camber of the path, lack of lighting, mild intoxication and excessive speed might have been contributing factors.”

Mr East died in hospital from his injuries two days later.

The coroner said she had sought information from the Department of State Growth and the Tasmanian Taxi Council (TTC), and had learned that there was “unwillingness on the part of qualified wheelchair accessible drivers to undertake the work due to inadequate remuneration”
“It would seem that there are currently limited incentives for qualified drivers to provide

wheelchair-accessible taxi services.

The Department, in consultation with TTC, reports that it is currently working on a series

of potential reforms to provide greater incentives to the taxi industry to increase the

availability of wheelchair-accessible taxi services,” she said.

“I comment that appropriate initiatives may go some way to increasing the availability of

wheelchair-accessible taxis and thus preventing similar circumstances to those that led to Mr

East embarking upon a risky journey in his own wheelchair.”

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Michael Ferguson said the government was aware of the problem and doing what it could.

“I’ve taken a very dim view of some of the service standards by the wheelchair-accessible taxi providers in the past,” he said.

“I’m very pleased to say that this government has completely rewritten the regulations and the funding model to provide an incentive for more wheelchair-accessible taxis for people who rely on a disability transport services.

“We’re already seeing an improvement and I expect to see that continue in the future.”