Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-3. Repair of assistive technology device with nonconformity
(a) If a new assistive technology device or demonstrator has a nonconformity and the consumer first reports that nonconformity to the manufacturer of the device or its authorized dealer within Term B, then the manufacturer of the device shall be jointly obligated, together with any authorized dealer if an assistive technology device dealer was involved in the sale or lease of the device, to effect any repairs as are necessary to conform the device to all warranties, notwithstanding that those repairs might be made after the expiration of Term B.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-3
- Assistive technology device: means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used or designed to be used to increase, maintain, or improve any functional capability of an individual with disabilities. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
- Assistive technology device dealer: means a dealer who is in the business of selling or leasing assistive technology devices. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
- Collateral costs: means expenses incurred by a consumer in connection with the repair of a nonconformity, including the costs of obtaining another device or service to substitute for the absence, due to a nonconformity or attempt to repair, of the device sold or leased to the consumer, if no loaner was offered to the consumer, except to the extent the person opposing liability for these costs shall prove that incurring these expenses was not reasonable in light of the sophistication of, and the means readily available, to the consumer. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
- Dealer: means the person who is the party, whether the seller or the lessor, to the contract with the consumer of sale or lease of the device. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
- Demonstrator: means an assistive technology device that would be new but for its use since its manufacture only for the purpose of demonstrating the device to the public or prospective buyers or lessees. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Loaner: means a device provided to the consumer for use by the user free of charge that need not be new, nor identical to, nor have functional capabilities equal to or greater than those of the original device, but that meets the following conditions:
(i) It is in good working order;
(ii) It performs at a minimum the most essential functions of the original device in light of the disabilities of the user; and
(iii) Any differences between it and the original device do not create a threat to safety. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
- Manufacturer: means :
(i) The person who manufactures or assembles an assistive technology device;
(ii) The person who manufactures or assembles a product that becomes a component product of an assistive technology device system, to the extent such product is itself ordinarily an assistive technology device; and
(iii) Agents of a person described in subsection (13)(i) or (13)(ii) of this section, including an importer, a distributor, factory branch, distributor branch, and any warrantors of the manufacturer's devices, provided that such agents shall not include, with respect to a particular transaction, the dealer, unless the dealer is also a person described in subsection (13)(i) or (13)(ii) of this section. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
- Term B: means the two (2) years following the date the device is first delivered into the possession of the consumer. See Rhode Island General Laws 6-45-1
(b) For all purposes of this chapter, a consumer reports a nonconformity when he or she:
(1) Makes any communication, written or oral, that describes a problem with the device, or that may be reasonably understood as an expression of dissatisfaction with any aspect of the operation of the device, which communication need only indicate in any way the nature of the problem, such as an indication of the functions that the device is not achieving or achieving unsatisfactorily to the consumer, and need not be in technical language or attempt to state the cause of the problem;
(2) Does not refuse to make the device available to the manufacturer or dealer for repair; and
(3) The problem indicated by the consumer’s communication constitutes, or is caused by, a nonconformity.
(c) It shall be presumed that the consumer has made the device available to the manufacturer or dealer for repair if he or she allows the manufacturer or dealer to take it from the consumer’s home or other location where the user customarily uses the device. The consumer shall be required to deliver the device to another location only upon a showing that it would be a substantially greater hardship for the manufacturer and dealer to take the device from the consumer’s home, or other location where the user customarily uses the device, than for the consumer to deliver the device.
(d) Whether or not the rights of the consumer provided by § 6-45-5(a) have arisen, and in addition to the remedies relating to collateral costs provided by this chapter, a person who is under an obligation to repair pursuant to this section is obliged immediately to provide the consumer a loaner if the absence of a loaner would be a threat to the safety of the user, but in any event when the out-of-service period exceeds seven (7) days as determined by § 6-45-4(b) and (c).
History of Section.
P.L. 1995, ch. 222, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 528, § 32.