Wheelchair users in Connecticut wait an average of two months for repairs – time that can literally stop them in their tracks.

A new state law is designed to dramatically speed up those repairs, but wheelchair users claim that repair companies are misinterpreting it.

Maureen Amirault’s wheelchair is her lifeline, but she has waited two months to get it fixed.

“It completely died,” she said. “And once it died, I was bedridden until we could get someone to do a quick fix on it.”

A new state law gives wheelchair companies one business day to respond to a repair request, and 10 business days to finish most jobs – unless there are delays getting parts or insurance approval.

That caveat is now leading to a dispute over when the 10-day window begins.

“They’ve now said, ‘Well, that’s actually 10 business days from when the parts come in,” said Sheldon Toubman, an attorney with Disability Rights CT. “Could take them two months to go out to look at it.”

The General Assembly is offering competing legal opinions.

The Office of Legislative Research, which analyzes bills, says repairs must be done “not later than 10 business days after the consumer requests a repair” but “any time spent waiting for prior authorization, or for delivery of needed parts ordered for the repair, does not count towards the 10-day limit.”

In a separate opinion, the Legislative Commissioners’ Office – which writes bills – says the clock doesn’t start ticking until parts are actually received – not when the repair is requested.

On Tuesday, both sides clashed during a meeting in Hartford.

“We apparently need to bring in legal experts to have a conversation about a fairly cut-and-dry interpretation of the law,” said Farrah Garland, another wheelchair user. “The definition of ‘timely repair’ is laid out extremely blatantly.”

The wheelchair market is now dominated by two suppliers, NuMotion and National Seating & Mobility (NSM).

Despite the legal confusion, the companies said they are meeting the 10-day deadline up to 70% of the time. NSM attributed half of the delays to customers and nursing homes rescheduling appointments.

But both companies acknowledged that finding qualified technicians is a major issue.

“We’re down two [repair technicians] and a customer service rep,” said NSM vice president Diane Racicot. “And we keep looking, and throwing money [at it] doesn’t seem to matter.”

NuMotion said it faces similar challenges.

“We just lost a tech last week,” said Gary Gilberti, a vice president with NuMotion. “He went to work in another industry where he’s making double what we can pay him.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal now wants the federal government to step in. He and Sen. Elizabeth Warren recently sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, asking for an inquiry into NSM and NuMotion.

“They have the power through their payment mechanisms to use the leverage – and it’s huge leverage – of the federal government,” Blumenthal said.

The new state law does not include an enforcement mechanism if repairs aren’t completed on time. Amirault said she might be back at the state Capitol next year, asking lawmakers to put more teeth in the legislation.

“They have to follow the law, and their investors have to follow the law,” she said.