After dropping a large envelope into a standard red mailbox 2010-01-05 at the Palais de Justice (170, rue de l'Hôtel de Ville, Gatineau, QC), my right hand got stuck inside the slot, and I could not get it out. Although I considered crying out loud for an ambulance, I was able to liberate my hand after 3 minutes of struggle. However, my index finger, middle finger and ring finger were badly bruised, and I am in excruciating pain. They are swollen with possible internal bleeding and even fractured bones, as shown in the photo below.
When my hand was caught inside the slot, the movable aluminum cover acted as a one-way valve to prevent my fingers from getting out. I pushed and pulled my hand, as well as pulling the handle to try to open the pull-out mechanism just below the slot to no avail. I am appalled by such a traumatic experience of a serious hand injury.
Please investigate to see if it is an isolated incident caused by a defective mailbox. Also, please find out if any safety assessment was conducted when the mailbox was being designed and engineered. In addition, please provide statistics on how many hand/finger injuries were caused by the red mailbox. I really would like an explanation and compensation for the pain that I have suffered, if possible.
