I had an unusual experience yesterday that is leading me to take an unexpected break from woodworking. Now, I only expect this break to last a few days, so no need to worry. The strangest things seem to happen to me, and my immediate family for that matter, that I could not resist telling the story.

Yesterday, I took my manual transmission work truck to get its state inspection done. Since I don’t drive it very often, I had been neglecting to get it done for quite some time. I took it to a local all-in-one shop that does tires, oil changes, inspections, etc. The gentleman doing my inspection was very nice. I pulled my truck into the parking lot and let him know what I was there for. He quickly jumped in my truck and had it in a bay to begin before I knew it. He immediately began doing an examination of the vehicle. I really liked the fact that I did not have to wait for service and I would be on my way shortly.

I stood in the doorway between the office and the bay that my truck was in watching the mechanic do his work. A lady with two young children were also they’re getting the tire fixed on her car. The woman was in the small office’s waiting area while her two children were playing in the parking lot right outside the doors. The mechanic went around to the driver’s side of the truck and checked that the parking brake worked and then released the parking brake and walked away.

A few seconds later, my truck began to roll since it was on an incline. It was headed in the direct path of where those two children were playing. My heart dropped and my father instincts kicked in. I yelled for the kids to move as I ran to the truck that was moving at a good speed. Either the children did not hear me or they didn’t understand what was going on because they didn’t budge from the spot they were occupying. I got to my door and flung it open. I managed to get one foot inside the vehicle and get to the brake just as the truck door slammed into the railing frame of the roll up bay doors on the shop.

My hand was crushed! I had been holding onto the truck door for stability while trying to get my foot inside. When the door of the truck collided with the door frame of the shop it pinned my hand there between them. I was in an awkward position. If I let my foot off the brake, it would increase the pressure on my hand, but I could not get my other foot inside the vehicle to push in the clutch so that the truck could be put into gear. This is when I became aware of my surroundings. The mechanic was in shock of what was going on and he was unsure of how to help me. He ran around the truck several times looking for ways to free my hand. I finally worked my other foot inside the vehicle. At this time, I have both feet inside and I was able to push the clutch in and get the vehicle into gear so that I could get free.

Truck door frame where my hand was pinned.

As soon as I was loose, another mechanic jumped in the truck and got it out-of-the-way as I assessed the damage of my hand. I have little feeling in the top of this hand from a prior injury that left me with the nickname “Slashâ€. I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. I knew my hand was bad, but because I don’t have complete feeling in it, I could not tell how badly I was injured.

The mechanic that was doing the inspection on my vehicle could not have apologized more. He ran across the street to a local pharmacy and got bandages and peroxide to clean the wound it left. He finished the inspection at no charge and even gave me a soda while I waited. Everyone kept urging me to call for an ambulance and go to the hospital, but I did not want to cause a fuss over just a few broken bones and a cut.

Then I had to tell the wife what happened! This was almost as scary as the event itself. She of course was extremely concerned and urged me to take a hospital visit. I calmed her and let her know that I was fine. As the evening went on, the swelling in my hand increased. This morning, now that all of the shock has worn off, I am swore and almost positive that my hand is fractured at the very least, but I cannot let that slow me down! I plan on taking a few days off to let the soreness where off and then I plan on being back in action! I am not quite sure why these odd incidents keep occurring to me, but at least it has left me with a good story!

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Good Luck!

Chris,

You're not alone,  this type of thing is routine around our place.

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

Thank goodness it wasn't any worse and the children weren't hurt. It is amazing what instinct s can do!

Hope the garage is going to help get the door fixed.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Lew, I didn't even realize the door until I got home! It's my work truck, It just adds more character! LOL!
 
Lewis Kauffman said:

Thank goodness it wasn't any worse and the children weren't hurt. It is amazing what instinct s can do!

Hope the garage is going to help get the door fixed.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

I'm sorry to hear that Larry! We are such an accident prone family! It's a miricle we are all still around and have all of our limbs still attached!
 
Larry Buskirk said:

Chris,

You're not alone,  this type of thing is routine around our place.

 

Larry

Old Woodworking Machinery Forum Host

Ouch Chris.  It makes my hand hurt just to read the story.  Maybe it is God's way of giving you some rest.

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Ron Dudelston
Site Administrator

Above and Beyond WoodWorks

Well glad it wasn't any worse, but I would get the hand checked. You never know what it might lead to down the line. Rather have a few extra days off now that a lot of them later on.

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John Moody
Site Administrator


John Moody Woodworks
http://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com

WOW! It would be a trip to the hospital for me. I hope it's not as bad as it sounds. The swelling and pain must be awful. 

As Ron said, maybe you need the time off. Take it easy.

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Gene
'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Chris,

We're known as the Klutz family at the hospital ER.

More than half the time they say, "You have to have a better story than that."

Let's see,

Me falling into a skylight opening when redoing the roof, three breaks in the ribs one broken in two places. That happened on a Saturday, I went to work the following Monday and they made me go see a Doctor before they would allow me to work. I put seven more sheets of plywood up after falling into the opening.

The wife gets hit in the forehead with a piece of wood when the son was splitting firewood, the wood split spun up and caught her about an inch above the bridge of the nose. Twelve stitches. This happened ten days after she had to have her galbladder taken out. She still can't ride a bicycle without running into a parked car.

 

I won't even begin with the son , but we're on a first name basis with the ER staff at two hospitals.

The wife, and I have been this way since we were kids,

I guess we were made for each other.

 

Larry
Chris Mobley said:

I'm sorry to hear that Larry! We are such an accident prone family! It's a miricle we are all still around and have all of our limbs still attached!
 
Larry Buskirk said:

LOL! Too funny Larry! Well be careful!
 
Larry Buskirk said:

Chris,

We're known as the Klutz family at the hospital ER.

More than half the time they say, "You have to have a better story than that."

Let's see,

Me falling into a skylight opening when redoing the roof, three breaks in the ribs one broken in two places. That happened on a Saturday, I went to work the following Monday and they made me go see a Doctor before they would allow me to work. I put seven more sheets of plywood up after falling into the opening.

The wife gets hit in the forehead with a piece of wood when the son was splitting firewood, the wood split spun up and caught her about an inch above the bridge of the nose. Twelve stitches. This happened ten days after she had to have her galbladder taken out. She still can't ride a bicycle without running into a parked car.

 

I won't even begin with the son , but we're on a first name basis with the ER staff at two hospitals.

The wife, and I have been this way since we were kids,

I guess we were made for each other.

 

Larry
Chris Mobley said:

Well... my wife broke me! I have a doctors appointment later today to get x rays and an exam. I will keep you all updated on my status. As for now, I can enjoy the recliner!

Hope your hand is OK.

As an attorney I gotta offer this  ( unfortunately too late) bit of information:

NEVER - EVER -  UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES take anything, other than emergent medical treatment,  from the party or place where you were injured and don't take any discounts either.

Seriously don't even take a cookie or a soda pop if they offer. Take NOTHING~!!!!!!! 

The reason is dark and cynical, but it is very, very real.

Against the  chance that your injury ends up being  more than you thought and you have to go to court to force  compensation the other side will (of a certainty) argue that your acceptance of the free stuff was an accord and satisfaction and that ended the liability from the party that injured you.

The Jury may disagree with that argument and they should, but sometimes they don't and the injured party goes away crippled and empty handed.

Other problems that can arise include your insurance company going after you for compensation because they would have taken their losses from the party that injured you ( or rather their insurance company).  This because the moment you accepted compensation ( that free soda) from the injuring party you closed the door on any possible recovery by your insurance company. So now they are looking to you to compensate them for their losses.

So take the bandages, the antiseptic, the ambulance ride etc., but never take anything  else.

And I really hope your hand is OK.

Thank you Cliff for your advise. I am much better. I did have xrays done and nothing is broken. I am already on my way to recovery! Thanks for our concern and advise.
 
Cliff said:

Hope your hand is OK.

As an attorney I gotta offer this  ( unfortunately too late) bit of information:

NEVER - EVER -  UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES take anything, other than emergent medical treatment,  from the party or place where you were injured and don't take any discounts either.

Seriously don't even take a cookie or a soda pop if they offer. Take NOTHING~!!!!!!! 

The reason is dark and cynical, but it is very, very real.

Against the  chance that your injury ends up being  more than you thought and you have to go to court to force  compensation the other side will (of a certainty) argue that your acceptance of the free stuff was an accord and satisfaction and that ended the liability from the party that injured you.

The Jury may disagree with that argument and they should, but sometimes they don't and the injured party goes away crippled and empty handed.

Other problems that can arise include your insurance company going after you for compensation because they would have taken their losses from the party that injured you ( or rather their insurance company).  This because the moment you accepted compensation ( that free soda) from the injuring party you closed the door on any possible recovery by your insurance company. So now they are looking to you to compensate them for their losses.

So take the bandages, the antiseptic, the ambulance ride etc., but never take anything  else.

And I really hope your hand is OK.

Chris, sorry to hear about your accident, completely the fault of the garage. Sounds like you may be friends with those folks otherwise I'd be raising a huge stink and asking to get my truck fixed, and asking them to compensate me for my time off from work and lost wages. My hat off to ya for not making a big deal out of it, too often folks sue for every little thing, I think our generation has become too lawsuit happy, but if ever there was a good case to be compensated for damages , this is it. I hope you get better soon.

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John Morris
The Patriot Woodworker
Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project

Wow, nothing broken. That's a relief!

See, Momma does know best. 

Thanks for letting us know the good news. I'll reiterate my previous advise....TAKE IT EASY! 

Chris Mobley said:

 I did have xrays done and nothing is broken. I am already on my way to recovery! 
 

Chris - that is definitely one for Reader's Digest.  Hope the hand heals better and quicker than the door does.

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Fred
aka Pop's Shop
www.pops-shop.com
'Soooooo many patterns - sooooo little time'
Scroll Saw Forum Host