NEWS: Popular website administrator damn near gets killed in near tradgedy.

[Logan]

That get yur attention?

So, I bet y'all might've figured out I'm out of town right now. Truth be told, I'm currently in Denver, Colorado.

A few weeks ago, I got a call from my mom. Mom being mom, she's a proud lady and never asks for anything, figuring her problems are her own. Well, she finally hit the end of her road and called to ask for help. It seems, unbeknownst to me, she shattered her ankle 6 months ago, lost her job as a result, then loses her health insurance as a result of that. So, after much deliberation, the decision is made to sell her house and move her back to Canada, land of socialized medicine and all that jazz, to go live with my sister.

So, I flew down Monday, packed up a Uhaul, and put her on a flight as direct as possibly to Canada. Did I mention she hasn't been able to walk in 6 months? Doctor's won't see her because she has no more insurance and she's not a citizen or resident alien so uneligible for medicare/caid. Anyway, I get her up there, Social services is giving her a hard time and insists on checking her into the hospital to get her leg looked at. That's a good thing. But they won't let her move into the house we had set up for her because of the injury.

So WHAT else could POSSIBLY go wrong right? Hmmm... How 'bout the truck with all her earthly belongings in it catching on fire? Yep. Nice. :fire:

So, here I am, in Denver, Colorado. I'll be here for a couple days talking to my lawyers, talking to Uhaul and their insurance company and their lawyers. Fortunately I had the brains to pay for their optional full insurance coverage, thank god. But regardless, pretty much $25-40k worth of her stuff is up in smoke and she'll be devasted as a result. So, I'm fairly sure we'll be launching a lawsuit.

What caused the fire? The fire investigator from the local FD says there is plainly supposed to be a heat shield above the rear exhaust pipe, which had been obviously removed on purpose. Most likely, he said becuase the exhaust was obviously too close to the bed of the truck, so they removed the heat shield to make more room.

The opposite side was still there. The exhaust pipe heated up the floor of the truck to the point where it ignited a box sitting on the floor, which in turned smoldered for hours while I was driving. When I stopped for gas late this afternoon, I smelled burning stuff, so I opened the back and Woosh! Up she went.

You know, it times like these, I get hmmm.... Angry. Yes, Angry is the right word.

So, any lawyers want to PM me and offer up some sagely advice on how to proceed? I'm already calling the lawyers we have on some fancy pre-arranged retainer thingy we keep going, but the more opinions I get, the merrier.

All I know, is I'm so incredibly angry, Uhaul is going to pay and feel all the button pushing wrath I can muster mister. :mad2:

[stevengerard]

Sorry to hear this, but I'm glad you were there for your mom, hope she gets well. The loss of items may be hard on her but remind her she is with family and getting healthy - that's what's important.

[Fourth Horseman]

OMG, Logan, that whole situation is terrible. Sorry to hear about your Mom and also sorry about the fire. Hope everything works out ok. :eek:

[MM03MOK]

Logan - words fail me! I wish your mother well in her recovery and you the strength to get through this ordeal.

We promise to be good. You have more important things to worry about than us kids here.

[junehhan]

Logan, my thoughts will be with your mother as well. I have a fairly close relationship with mine, and it's very painful often to see the lady who took care of you go through such an ordeal. I honestly hope Uhaul wasn't that stupid to remove a heat shield. Do people ever wonder that if a heat shield was placed somewhere, it was likely placed there for a reason?

[Logan]

Logan, my thoughts will be with your mother as well. I have a fairly close relationship with mine, and it's very painful often to see the lady who took care of you go through such an ordeal. I honestly hope Uhaul wasn't that stupid to remove a heat shield. Do people ever wonder that if a heat shield was placed somewhere, it was likely placed there for a reason?

Unfortunately, the truck was picked up by the mexican border, the folks down there wouldn't of thought twice about it. It was clearly removed on purpose. The mounting location is there and the bolts that should be holding the shield on (and serve no other purpose) have been screwed back in place.

Also, the mud flap was completely burned away and further inspection of the side of the truck revealed massive heat damage to the fibreglass shell that had obviously been occurring for quite some time. The outlet of the exhaust pipe was literally pointing full-on to the side of the body shell. The exhauste would've not evacuated the the underside of the truck properly, and quite literally would've just been cooking the underside of the truck.

The scary part is, the GAS tank has massive heat damage to it too... I quite literally could've been blown to bits. Fortunately, I wasn't. And fortunately, I brought my handy dandy 5megapixel digital camera with me, I have a couple hundred photos of the entire ordeal today, complete with flames and everything...

[Bigdogjim]

For once in life I do not know what to say?

Important thing is Mom will be OK! In good hands now.

We are all pulling for you!

Not to insensitive here but next time call Penske or Ryder and I can help with the rate:)

[merc406]

That is horrible news, we wish your Mom, You and your Family all the best.



Maybe someone from the site living where you are can help, if you need anything.

[cruzer]

Logan, I hope you know how much your caring means to your Mother--she sounds like a wonderful person. Good to hear you are O K--just let the local group know if we can do anything to help---we're here for you..and give Mom a hug for us. maury

[Logan]

That is horrible news, we wish your Mom, You and your Family all the best.
Where are you now? And maybe someone living where you are can help?

I'm in Denver. I'm not too concerned. So far, under control. Uhaul has been calling non-stop trying to make sure they're doing everything they can for me, hopefully, they keep it up. We'll what tomorrow holds.

As far as I go, My platinum visa will be ensuring I'm here to make sure all my interests, expenses, and personal losses are taken care of in an appropriate fashion.

[merc406]

Gotcha, good luck with everything.

[Logan]

Well, after 12 hours of driving and a uhaul trying to assassinate me, I think I'll be hitting the sack... :rolleyes:

[hitchhiker]

Well, after 12 hours of driving and a uhaul trying to assassinate me, I think I'll be hitting the sack... :rolleyes:
I am very sorry to hear about your recent bad events.

I hope everything works out as best it can.

Warm Regards,

David

[BillyGman]

Sorry to hear all of that Logan. I bet that the only reason why that truck didn't blow up a long time ago is for the simple fact that the gas tank probably stays pretty full most of the time if it's been used like most rental moving trucks are. They give their customers the truck w/a full tank of gas, and they instruct them to top off the tank just before they return it. And those trucks usually have pretty big tanks.

Had the gas tank been near empty for any length of time, it probably would've blown up since there would've been more oxygen in the tank. Having a tank w/very little gas in it is the equivalent of a lean condition inside your engine. And we all know how a lean condition can easily cause detonation of the gasoline within the cylinders.

So as you've implied, as bad as this was, it could've been worse guy. I hope things work out for you and your Mom w/U-Haul. I'm not trying to be like an armchair quarterback,and I'm not implying that you're to blame for what happened either, but my rule of thumb when it comes to rental trucks for moving is to avoid U-Haul. Atleast in my homestate, all the U-Haul places have really old trucks that are beat, and ride pretty bad. I stick w/Penske, or Ryder since their trucks tend to be newer and better maintained. I don't know why that is, but where I live, it's always the case.

Oh, BTW, the reason why the title of this thread caught MY attention as soon as I read it, is because the board that I used to be a Moderator of for a year and a half, just closed down 2 months ago due to the owner of that board being killed in a car accident back in January!!!!! We didn't even know about it until almost a month after it happened. We had wondered why the guy hadn't posted on our board for over three weeks. So the entire board consisting of 2300 members, and having been in existence for three years, just folded. I had over 5600 posts on that board. There were so many guys on that board who's ph #'s and e-mail addresses I didn't get or write down. In a certain way, it was kind of a wake-up call in a sense because all of a sudden one day, I was no longer in contact w/hundreds of the regulars who were on that board on a daily basis.And I'm gonna miss a lot of them. We had become a pretty tight knit online community.There are very few guys from that board who I still have the opportunity to contact since I have there ph #'s. So yes, your thread title here DID really catch my attention!!!!! :eek:

[01 Interceptor]

Glad that you're ok. Personal items can be replaced, people cannot. Hope your mom gets well soon.

[RCSignals]

Logan, I hope all else goes well from here on in. With Canada too. i know they can be funny about people leaving and coming back, and who still qualifies for medical insurance.
If they give your mum trouble, just have her declare refugee status.

BTW, no hospital in the US can refuse care, that's the "socialised" system we have here.

[Patrick]

My prayers to you and your Mom!! Living with a broken ankle for 6 months, DAM!! My Mom was two months into Cancer treatmeants before we found out!!! Everything is fine now!! To very strong ladies!!!! Count your blessings Logan!! I do everyday!!!! Sounds like she raised her son right. I know of a few people that would have not half of what you have dun!!!! Patrick :up: :bows: :bows:

[jspradii]

Logan, what state did you (a. Rent the truck in, and, (b. did it catch fire in Colorado (I assume it did, since that's where you are). Glad you're safe!

Jim

[woaface]

Hey Logan, glad you're all right. I can understand why you're p.o-ed!

Hope it works out a.s.a.p.

[Slowpoke]

I too am glad you are OK....

My suggestion is to start with the local news - Local TV Reporters love to report this kind of stuff.

I did a quick search for previous problems with heald sheild removal in Uhaul's past and found some previous complaints. If uhaul had prior knowledge that removing the heat sheild was the cause of problems, they are 'on notice' that their actions cause injury and damage. Your chance of winning any type of legal victory just increased 10-fold. Not only can you get real damages but some punitive damage as well since they knew their actions would lead to this problem.

Here's a coupla links to items of interest.

http://www.rightsock.com/~kjw/PSA-uhaul.html

http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:K5WU4tbj_LMJ:an namaria.net/U-HAUL/complaints-1999.htm+uhaul+remove+heat+shi eld&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

good luck and keep us informed.

[SergntMac]

Best wishes, Logan, you and yours are in my prayers.

[Lowell]

Being in the situation that you are in, will test you. Please pass the test. Take care of your mother. Best wishes. My heart is with you and your family. Good luck!

[Marauderman]

Sorry, as others have said already , to hear about your frightening news....however, your already on your slow road to recovery..or better yet....victory over this........most probably casue of that one item that stood out in your story.....REMEMBERING TO TAKE YOUR CAMERA!..

That I feel , in the end, will have played the biggest role for you ......as the saying goes...a picture is a thousand words ...and along with the words from the investigators ....well....a true victory for you and your Mom ......good luck....and your friends here ,...are just that.......here if you need us.............Tom

[Paul T. Casey]

Man, this is the kind of crap I hate hearing about. Glad you survived. I'm not a lawyer or anything, but if you need anything let me know if I can help. My prayers are with you and your mom.

[TAF]

VERY sorry to hear this news Logan! Please collectively send our best to your family, and we hope a resolution will be swift to this obvious gross negligence on the part of the carrier.

Hopefully, you'll find some REAL Legal help here from Mark N40GL (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/member.php?u=111), Ross (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/member.php?u=687) or Jim jspradii (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/member.php?u=482) as I think they are the only REAL attorneys we have here who can offer assistance.

[martyo]

Logan: This isn't my area of expertise, but I would be happy to chat with you about how you might want to proceed. As always, feel free to call me. 914-582-6262.

[Haggis]

Logan, Ladyhawke and I send you and your mother our blessings. Hope everything works out for the best. Good luck.

[2003 MIB]

Logan, I hope you know how much your caring means to your Mother--she sounds like a wonderful person. Good to hear you are O K--just let the local group know if we can do anything to help---we're here for you..and give Mom a hug for us. maury

We mean it, Logan...If you need anything on the homefront hollar at us.
-Dan

[NickLee]

Gotcha, good luck with everything.


Glad everyone is ok. Keep the faith. :(

[Amsoil_Dealer]

Whew....And I thought I was having a bad day. :eek:

You know the crazy thing is that someone probably removed the heat sheild because it was rattling.

Glad to hear you are OK and best of luck getting your mother back on her feet.

Don

[rookie1]

Glad everyone is ok. Your Mom must be devastated, If she's like mine I bet she had quite a bit of stuff that's simply irreplacable in her eyes. Based on the details it sounds like you won't get any trouble from Uhaul. I can't imagine how I would calm my mother down after something like this. Good luck and God bless.

[sailsmen]

You and our family our in our prayers.

So long as U-Haul is making you happy I won't retain an attorney. If you are uncertain of oyur legal rights you can always consult with an attorney.

Once an attorney is retained and represents you you can no longer talk to U-Haul and they can no longer talk to oyu. Instead fo 3 months to collect you are looking at 1 year min, less 35%, less expenses.

[martyo]

^^^ That's some sage advice! ^^^

(Yep, this is a lawyer speaking....)

[mcb26]

Just glad you are ok. Hope your mom gets better.
Take care

[Logan]

I've got one scheduled for a consult this morning to make sure I understand what I should be doing and what my rights are.

[merc406]

Is there anything you need right now that someone here may be able to help with?

[Heavy D.]

Logan,
Good luck with everything and glad you are okay. Best wishes to you and your mother and I hope everyting works out. My condolences on the material losses as well.

Take Care,

[Racerx88]

Logan, I hope you know how much your caring means to your Mother--she sounds like a wonderful person. Good to hear you are O K--just let the local group know if we can do anything to help---we're here for you..and give Mom a hug for us. maury
What he said Logan. Let us know if you need any help on this end.
Dean

[Ross]

Logan, sorry to hear about this loss, but glad that everyone is OK. Check your PM's.

[Dr Caleb]

I'm sorry to hear about your mother. She sounds like a tough woman though!

Logan, I know you used to live around here, so if there's anything I can do to help you or her out; rides to/from the airport, if you need to borrow one of my cars, to having a steaming cup of Tim's waiting at the border for you, let me know. I work for a heavy equipment company, so I can get hold of semi's to pickups if need be.

My girlfriend is also a nurse (LPN), I don't mean to volunteer her without asking first, but I know her well enough to know she'd do what's needed for your mom.

And sue their asses off. That's just downright unsafe and negligent, not to mention wholly inconvenient.

[MainEngDwarf]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope everything works out for you. My best wishes to you and your mom and if you need anything, just ask.

[Logan]

Glenn, thanks. Unfortunately, not much point in me continuing the trip. Plus, my mom, conveniently enough for herself is actually a RN. Just happens to be a RN with no insurance. :) She's currently in the Ponoka General Hospital getting treated.

As for the sueing part, we'll see what Uhaul's adjusters and agents say. I've already got consults with lawyers going today and have been photographing and documenting everything. So, if things don't go my way and there's enough to make a lawsuit worthwhile, then that's the route it'll go.

I'm a big fan of quick and simple. Lawsuits aren't, but I certainly will indeed sue if they don't make this right to my satisfaction.

[ParkRanger]

Logan:

I know its been a terrible experience and the loss of property devastating. But the good news is that you and your mother are OK, and that's what REALLY matters. Everthying else can be replaced!

Take care of her now that she needs you and let us know if you need anything.

Sincerely

Park Ranger

[Dr Caleb]

She's currently in the Ponoka General Hospital getting treated.


Hey, no prob. Glad that she's getting looked after. But if anything arises, I'm on the south side of Edmonton and I can be in Ponoka in an hour with my CV, 1/2 hour with the Marauder. :burnout:

[Ross]

Glenn, did you get the snowplow option on that MM? :lol:

[Dr Caleb]

Ahhh Ross. What would we do without you? :)

It was warmer here on Tuesday than in Miami, but it could snow tomorrow! I love spring on the Prairies. . .

[2003 MIB]

Ahhh Ross. What would we do without you?

We would dwell in darkness and only survive on the Pork and Beans we could consume from a rusty can with a plastic spork. The clouds would rain acid and only 83 octane would be available. Oh, and we wouldn't have any guns...

[Ross]

Ahhh Ross. What would we do without you? :)


Don't ask hitchhiker that...I'm sure he would tell you!

[metroplex]

we would dwell in darkness and only survive on the Pork and Beans we could consume from a rusty can with a plastic spork. The clouds would rain acid and only 83 octane would be available. Oh, and we wouldn't have any guns...

No guns and no high octane fuel make Homer go crazy....
No guns and no high octane fuel make Homer go crazy....
No guns and no high octane fuel make Homer go crazy....
No guns and no high octane fuel make Homer go something something
Go Crazy?

Don't mind if I do! :alone:

[Dr Caleb]

Don't ask hitchhiker that...I'm sure he would tell you!

Who? Is that still around? I do love my newly broken in "ignore" list ;)

That reminds me, where did I leave that FN Herstal A3 SPR . . . :)

[drobin]

Logan, you are one lucky man and I can't believe that this is happening to you and your mom. If there is anything I can do, please let me know!

PS---U-Haul has plenty $


Donald
"drobin"

[metroplex]

That reminds me, where did I leave that FN Herstal A3 SPR . . .

pffshh....

Stoner SR-25... last I heard Navy SEALs adopted it and the US Army is going to adopt it as their special purpose rifle. Basically a highly modified M-16A2 that fires 7.62x51 in semi/full auto w/ optional Knights silencer and there's a Matched SR-25 for sniping (single shot, 10 or 20 rd mag, heavier barrel, optional silencer).

http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Auto-Rifles/Stoner_SR25.htm

:pimp:

[Dr Caleb]

pffshh....

Stoner SR-25...

Dude! The record kill for an FN - A3 (could be a P72) in 7.62 NATO ammo is currently 2791 meters - over a mile - by a Canadian in Afghanistan :up:

Stoners are nice and all, but a 4' barrell and 30 round clip is just sooo cool. Not as cool as a Barret .50 though :)

[metroplex]

Dude! The record kill for an FN - A3 (could be a P72) in 7.62 NATO ammo is currently 2791 meters - over a mile - by a Canadian in Afghanistan :up:

Stoners are nice and all, but a 4' barrell and 30 round clip is just sooo cool. Not as cool as a Barret .50 though :)

I heard the same story about a kill in Afghanistan with a .50 sniper rifle...

The XM-107 is indeed a nice rifle! :pimp:

I wouldn't mind a M-21 tho ;)

I didn't know you were talking about ranges... I like the SR-25 idea because it's a versatile rifle. You can't exactly get up and use the XM-107 for CQB! :D
Also the silencer helps somewhat with preventing the enemy from pinpointing your position.

I don't quite remember what they used in Tears of the Sun, but they all had silencers/suppressors for their weapons and I'm almost positive one of their designated marksman had the SR-25.

[Smokie]

Logan, I am glad you were not harmed and your Mom is recieving medical treatment. I hope her family albums and pictures were not lost, to me that is worth more than anything else. I hope Uhaul settles quickly and fairly, God Bless, Javier.

[merc406]

Logan, I am glad you were not harmed and your Mom is recieving medical treatment. I hope her family albums and pictures were not lost, to me that is worth more than anything else. I hope Uhaul settles quickly and fairly, God Bless, Javier.


Ditto^^ We have more important picture in the safe than anything else. :up:

[Bigdogjim]

Hey Logan see if U-Hall what to sponser Marauder II :lol:

[RCSignals]

I'm confused. Who has to watch for snipers? Logan, or U-Haul?

[Logan]

Hijacking this thread is a bad idea.

[MAD-3R]

SO Logan,
Enjoying steak and lobster at U-Hauls expence?

[Logan]

Not quite. I flew myself back to Dallas last night. I can't talk too much more about it online as it looks like the lawyers will have to get involved.

[MAD-3R]

Sorry to hear about having to take it to the next level. Hope it works out.

Tells us what you can, when you can and good luck.

[jgc61sr2002]

I am also glad to hear you were not injured. Best wishes and a speedy recovery for your Mother.

[BlackHole]

Looked bad but just remember Anything can get replaced except for Human Life and I talk from experiance from this. :( :( :( Just hope it turns out alright for you and your family.

[RCSignals]

At least you are home Logan, and your mum is being taken care of.
Sometimes Nurses are the worst patients. As for U-Haul, I guess hey had their chance to make good. Not really surprised they haven't yet.

Best of luck with it all

[silver_2000]

Logan

Glad to see you are OK.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help

Doug

[junehhan]

Good luck getting everything taken care of Logan!

[the_pack_rat]

Logan,

Sorry to hear of your situation.

Glad to see everyone made it thru free of physical injury.

Hope you get fair & reasonable restitution.

Regards,

Eric