Crowdfunding for Mobility: Wheelchair User Seeks Accessible Car

Following a workplace accident and a fall during his therapy, Markus Reichenbacher is confined to a wheelchair. He is now trying to finance a wheelchair-accessible car through crowdfunding in order to regain some quality of life.

Markus Reichenbacher has turned to crowdfunding to raise funds for a wheelchair-accessible car

A car adapted for people with disabilities. That’s what Markus Reichenberger from Amberg is fighting for via crowdfunding. After a workplace accident in 2013, he developed CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) in his right arm. This pain condition can occur primarily after bone fractures, but its cause is not yet fully understood. Following a household accident and a fall during therapy, the CRPS then spread to his left foot.

Markus Reichenberger has been in a wheelchair ever since. Having been unable to continue his job as a machine operator, he has been receiving early retirement benefits since 2017. To gain more mobility and freedom, and also to be able to attend important appointments such as his therapy sessions or visits to his pain specialist, Reichenberger now wishes to have a vehicle adapted for people with disabilities, that’s why he started a crowdfunding campaign.

His insurance company, BKK firmus, stated in a written statement that a vehicle adapted for people with disabilities is not included in the list of approved assistive devices and therefore cannot be financed or subsidized by BKK firmus. Following an inquiry from OTV, the German Social Accident Insurance Institution for the Wood and Metal Industries declined to make a valid and general statement regarding the complex causal relationships between a workplace accident, subsequent health problems, and claims for benefits under the statutory accident insurance, based on the facts presented.

Reichenberger says he can’t fully convert his Ford to be wheelchair accessible, so he started a crowdfunding campaign

He lacks the storage space for his wheelchair and the lift needed to secure it inside the vehicle. Therefore, he wants to sell the Ford and expects to get between 7,000 and 8,000 euros. However, that’s far from enough to finance a new, wheelchair-accessible vehicle, which costs around 61,000 euros. That’s why Markus Reichenberger is now turning to crowdfunding.

On the website GoFundMe, he’s raising money to fulfill his wish for more flexibility and freedom. So far, around €2,000 has been raised. But there’s still a long way to go to reach his crowdfunding goal.

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(Featured image by CDC via Unsplash)

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First published in otv. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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