This lift is not designed to pick someone up off the ground. I'm assuming you need this in case he falls. I'm not sure about New York but in Southern California the fire department will readily assist in these situations. Over the past 3 years we've called the fire department 6 or 7 times for a variety of situations where we needed some "muscles" to extricate me – and sometimes my wheelchair. Each time they fantastic. They arrived within a few minutes and were always helpful and courteous.
Hope this helps,
Dan
Hope this helps,
Dan