Permobil and Max Mobility have agreed to a $4.1 million settlement over the SpeedControl Dial, the speed control used with the SmartDrive MX2+ wheelchair power assist device that was later pulled from the market in an FDA Class I recall. Anyone who bought or used a dial between April 1, 2022 and July 1, 2026 can file for a pro rata cash payment, plus up to $1,000 back if they paid to repair or replace one.
Current Status
Claims are open. The deadline to submit a claim form is August 31, 2026, and online claims must be filed by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time that day. The court has directed that notice be issued, but it has not yet decided whether to approve the settlement: a final approval hearing is scheduled for October 29, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. No payments have been issued, and no payment date has been announced, because payments are made only after the settlement is approved and any appeals are resolved. If you purchased or used a SpeedControl Dial between April 1, 2022 and July 1, 2026, the action to take now is to file a claim before the August 31 deadline.What Changed Recently?
The claim window for the Permobil settlement is now open, with an August 31, 2026 deadline that applies to claim forms, exclusion requests, and objections alike.The settlement follows a device removal that the FDA treated as its most serious category of recall. Permobil and Max Mobility voluntarily removed all SpeedControl Dials from the market, and the FDA classified the action as a Class I recall, the designation the agency reserves for problems that may cause serious injury or death. According to FDA recall notices, the removal covers SpeedControl Dials manufactured and distributed between April 25, 2022 and July 8, 2025, and the agency described a design issue that could allow the SmartDrive MX2+ motor to activate without user input, or to fail to stop fully when the dial was pressed inward. The FDA notices also describe injuries reported in connection with the problem. Users were told to use an alternate control method for the SmartDrive MX2+.
The lawsuit alleges that the SpeedControl Dial was defective and did not function as intended. Those remain allegations. As the Notice puts it, the court did not decide in favor of either side, and the settlement does not mean that the Defendants did anything wrong.
Who Qualifies?
The Settlement Class includes all persons who purchased or used a SpeedControl Dial between April 1, 2022 and July 1, 2026.The word "used" is doing real work in that definition. Many SmartDrive MX2+ users never bought the dial themselves — it was billed to insurance or supplied through a mobility equipment provider. Because the class reaches users as well as purchasers, a wheelchair user who operated a SpeedControl Dial during the class period is a Settlement Class Member even if someone else paid for it.
The Notice specifically excludes six groups: anyone with pending litigation against the Defendants or against United Seating and Mobility, LLC d/b/a NuMotion; anyone who files a timely request for exclusion; current officers, directors, and shareholders of the Defendants; legal counsel for the Defendants and their employees; federal, state, and local government entities; and the judicial officers presiding over the case along with their immediate family and judicial staff.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement creates a $4,100,000 Cash Settlement Fund. That figure is the gross fund, not the amount available to class members. Settlement administration costs, class representative service payments, and attorneys' fees and expenses come out of it first; what remains is the Net Settlement Fund.Two benefits are paid from the Net Settlement Fund, and they are paid in a specific order:
- Repair/Replacement Reimbursement is allocated first, to class members with verifiable out-of-pocket expenses to repair or replace a SpeedControl Dial. It is capped at $1,000 per claim and at $100,000 across all claims.
- The Cash Benefit is then paid out of what is left, allocated pro rata among every Authorized Claimant who submits a valid Cash Benefit claim.
You can claim both on one form. Because the Cash Benefit is a pro rata share of whatever remains, the per-person amount depends on how many valid claims are filed, and neither the Notice nor the claim form publishes an estimate. Class counsel intends to ask the court for fees of up to one third of the fund, or $1,366,666.67, plus expenses, and for service payments of $10,000 for each of the three class representatives. The court may award less than those amounts, which would leave more in the Net Settlement Fund.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
For the Cash Benefit, no proof is required. The online claim form asks for your name, address, and contact information, and lists the 8-digit Notice ID as optional — if you enter one it has to be valid, but you can file without it. That means a class member who never received a mailed or emailed notice, or who no longer has it, can still submit a claim. You confirm your eligibility by answering whether you purchased or used a SpeedControl Dial during the class period, and you sign the form under penalty of perjury.For the Repair/Replacement Reimbursement, documentation is required. That tier is limited to class members with verifiable out-of-pocket expenses, so you upload supporting documentation of what you paid to repair or replace the dial. Claims are audited, and the certification on the form requires that any documents you supply be originals or complete and true copies.
One filing restriction applies to everyone: claim forms must be submitted by claimants themselves. The administrator rejects claims filed by claim aggregators or other bulk filers.
What Is the Deadline?
August 31, 2026 is the deadline for every option in this settlement. Online claim forms must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on that date, which is the only timezone the official documents specify.The same date governs the alternatives. A request for exclusion must be postmarked no later than August 31, 2026, and can also be submitted electronically on the settlement website; opting out is the only way to preserve your right to sue the Defendants over the claims this settlement resolves, and it means you receive nothing from the settlement. Objections must be postmarked by the same date, and an objector who wants to speak at the fairness hearing has to say so in the objection. Mass or class opt-outs are not permitted — each class member may only submit a request on their own behalf.
August 31, 2026 is also the deadline to update your mailing address or select a digital payment method.
How Do You Take Action?
File online at the official settlement website, SpeedControlDialSettlement.com, which also hosts the Settlement Agreement, the complaint, and the full Notice on its Documents page. A claim form can also be downloaded and submitted by mail.The online form takes your name and contact details, an optional Notice ID, your answers to the two eligibility questions covering the Cash Benefit and any repair or replacement expenses, any supporting documentation, and your payment selection. You can be paid by check or choose a digital option — PayPal, Venmo, ACH transfer, Zelle, or Virtual Mastercard. Submitting the form means agreeing to the release and submitting to the jurisdiction of the Eastern District of Louisiana.
If you need to reach the settlement administrator about a lost Notice ID or a paper claim form, use the contact page on the official settlement website.
What Happens Next?
The next milestone is the final approval hearing, set for October 29, 2026 at 9:30 a.m. in Courtroom C268 of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana in New Orleans. The court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and will rule on the requests for attorneys' fees, expenses, and class representative service payments. It will weigh any timely objections and may hear from class members who asked to speak.Class members do not have to attend. If the court grants approval, payments follow once the judgment becomes final and any appeals are resolved, which can add time. No payment date has been announced.
Sources and Verification
This page is based on the official Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement in Garofalo v. Permobil, Inc., No. 2:25-cv-2080 (E.D. La.), the online claim form and FAQ on the official settlement website, and the FDA's recall notices for the device.- Official settlement website — SpeedControlDialSettlement.com (Notice, FAQs, claim form, opt-out form, and the Settlement Agreement on the Documents page)
- FDA — Recall Alert: Max Mobility/Permobil Removes All SpeedControl Dials Used With SmartDrive MX2+ Power Assist Devices
- Permobil — press release on the worldwide expanded recall and removal of all SpeedControl Dials
Questions
Do I qualify if my insurer or a mobility provider paid for the SpeedControl Dial instead of me?
Yes. The Settlement Class covers everyone who purchased or used a SpeedControl Dial between April 1, 2022 and July 1, 2026. Because the class reaches users and not only purchasers, a wheelchair user whose dial was billed to insurance or supplied through a mobility equipment provider is still a Settlement Class Member. The one exception in this area is that people with pending litigation against the Defendants or against United Seating and Mobility, LLC d/b/a NuMotion are excluded from the class.
Can I claim both the Cash Benefit and the Repair/Replacement Reimbursement?
Yes. The claim form lets you request both on a single submission. The Cash Benefit is open to every Settlement Class Member and is paid pro rata. The Repair/Replacement Reimbursement is separate, is capped at $1,000 per claim, and requires verifiable out-of-pocket expenses you paid to repair or replace a SpeedControl Dial during the class period.
What happens if reimbursement claims exceed the $100,000 cap?
The Notice states that no more than $100,000 total is allocated to Repair/Replacement Reimbursements, and that reimbursements are paid out of the Net Settlement Fund before the pro rata Cash Benefit is calculated. The Notice does not describe how the administrator would handle reimbursement claims that exceed that total. It also does not publish a per-person estimate for the Cash Benefit, because that figure depends on how many valid claims are filed.
I threw away the notice I was sent. Can I still file a claim?
Yes. The online claim form marks the 8-digit Notice ID as optional, so a Settlement Class Member who never received a notice or no longer has it can still file using their name and contact information. If a Notice ID is entered, it must be a valid one. Claims must be submitted by the claimant, not by a claim aggregator or bulk filer.
Does filing a claim give up my right to sue over an injury?
Everyone who stays in the Settlement Class releases the claims the Settlement resolves, whether or not they file a claim form. The exact scope of the release is set out in the Settlement Agreement on the official settlement website. Excluding yourself by the August 31, 2026 deadline is the only option that preserves the right to bring your own lawsuit, and anyone weighing that choice because of an injury should speak with a lawyer of their own.
