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THE INSURANCE CLAIM LETTER

Dear Sirs,

I was recently moving 500 pounds of bricks from the top of a five-story building. It would take too long to carry them down, so I put them in a bucket and lowered them by a pulley which I fastened to the top of the building. After tying the rope securely at the ground level, I returned to the top of the building, tied the other end to the barrel, loaded it with bricks and swung it over the side of the building for the descent. Then I returned to the sidewalk and untied the rope, holding it securely to guide the barrel down slowly.

Since the bucket weighed 500 pounds and I weigh only 150 pounds (before the accident}, the force of the descending bricks jerked me into the air so quickly that I did not have time to think about letting go. As I passed between the second and third floors I met the barrel coming down. This accounts for the bruises and lacerations on my upper body.

Still, I held tightly to the rope until I reached the top where my hand became jammed into the pulley, this accounts for the broken fingers. At the same time, however, the barrel crashed into the sidewalk and the bottom broke out. With the weight of the bricks now gone, the barrel weighed only forty pounds. Thus, my 150 pound body began a swift decent. My decent was slowed only slightly as I met the bucket coming up; this accounts for my broken ankles. My decent continued until I crashed onto the pile of bricks; this accounts for my sprained back and broken collar bone. At that time, I guess I lost my presence of mind completely and let go of the rope. The empty 40 pound bucket then came crashing down from five floors on top of me; this accounts for the head injuries.

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