B.C. man’s Segway discrimination case to be heard at human rights tribunal
VANCOUVER — A British Columbia man who alleges the province is discriminating against him by not allowing him to use a modified Segway as an assisted-mobility device will have his case heard at a provincial human rights tribunal.
Eric Jeppsen was told he would soon need an electric wheelchair after being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder and his doctor prescribed the use of a Segway modified with a seat called a SegSaddle.
But the province’s Ministry of Transportation does not allow Segways on sidewalks, and Metro Vancouver’s transit authority refused to have the device on its vehicles based on the ministry’s prohibition.
A B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruling released earlier this month says the province won’t issue the exemption because the company that makes SegSaddles says they are not considered to be a medical devices under Canadian law.