In-Cab 5th Wheel Release Buttons..... DANGEROUS OR NOT????

How Do and Good Evening. I drive for a company that has Volvos 2008-2012 and Internationals 2008-2012. Both makes have the In-Cab 5th Wheel release switches. Since I have been with the company (Feb of 2011) I have been in Both. Started out in a Volvo, 4 months later went into a new International and due to Mechanical probs with the regen unit a few months later went into a 2010 Volvo. I noticed that the in-cab 5th wheel release buttons in both were located on the dash but in different areas. In the Volvo it is Located right next to the Engine brake button. And with the dash lights in the Volvo not being real bright, If you reach for your Engine brake at night and are not paying attention that could result in one helluva boo boo.

being in both trucks I noticed that these 5th wheel release switches only worked part of the time. and sometimes they would actually cause the 5th wheel release bar to either jam up or only slide it out about 4 inches. Now I am no dummy. I have been out here for 14 yrs and I know that pressure makes up alot in the gravity law in trucking. I would lower my dollies down to the point that I would hear air escaping from the 5th wheel or drives. I would try pressing the button to release the 5th wheel but it wouldn't release, yet I could get out and pull the release arm itself and it would slide out with ease.

Is this in-cab release button failing or causing the 5th wheel to jam up a common thing?

On June 18th I was at our drop yard doing a trlr switch. I was under an empty trlr. I backed into a hole with a trlr next to me on the driver side. as a matter of fact it was a trlr I was suppose to be hooking up to. I got out and did my walk around. Everything was fine. I lowered my dollies untill I heard the air escaping from the 5th wheel/drives. unhooked my air lines and electrical line and put all in their holsters. I got up in the truck and pressed the in-cab release button and held it untill the tone started beeping. I pulled forward alittle and it was still hooked. So I repeated everything. On the 6th attempt I heard the air pushing the kingpin release arm out. I tried pulling forward and I was still hooked. I got out and looked and the release arm was out maybe 4". I stepped in between the 2 trlrs, grabbed the kingpin handle and pushed. It wouldnt go. I pushed hard the second time and felt a slight pinch in my right shoulder . I pulled the release arm out. I had to pull hard because it felt like it was in a bind and I knew it wasnt because I made the neccesary adjustments after each tug to pull out to keep it from binding. Once I got the release arm fully extended the pain in my right shoulder was mind blowing. bad enought hat I dropped to my knees. 2 wks later I was in my Othropedic Doctors office listening him tell me that I had to have surgery because I tore the Labrum (which is the rim of the cup that the ball of the shoulder sets in) half way around:smt010. I have screws and anchors holding it in place. I had the surgery on Aug 3rd of this year and Im gonna be lucky to be back at work by April of next year. I have done my passive ROM therapy. Now I have to go through 5 months of strengthening and rebuilding therapy...

Just the other day a friend of mine who drives a Volvo with the same in-cab 5th wheel release button said that he hit his button twice, it wouldnt release, so he got out, reached in to pull the kingpin arm and it shot out at him and #### near broke his finger.

Any information on this is greatly appreciated....

 

My biggest worry right now is the fact my surgery was on Aug 3rd. 2 months later I can stand up and with palm up I can only raise it straight armed about a foot using my shoulder. Palm down maybe 6 inches and its very painful. Sitting at a table with my fore arm on the table, if I want to adjust my arm I have to with my other hand. If my arm is straight out I can not lift it up off the table. If I lay flat on my back and bend my fore arm up to touch my shoulder and then reach for the ceiling it feels lik I have 50 lbs in my hand.

I havent seen my 8 yr old little girl since the surgery because she said and these are her own words She is scared that she is gonna break daddy. I cant cut my grass, play ball with my step son nor take him fishing. I went from GO GO GO to G. I do thank God for my wife every day though. She has gone beyond the call of duty with this. The night of the surgery when the block wore off of my shoulder I was in the middle of my living room floor bawling like a baby. She was napping and when one of the kids told her what was wrong she wasted no time in going into action. She has made sure that my ice machine has been set up on a daily basis, she gave me my showers for the first week with out complaining. Due to my shoulder being so unstable I am STILL sleeping in a recliner because she is afraid that either she will roll over on top of it or I am gonna roll out of bed yet she has not complained about this. I am stressed, aggrivated, aggitated, irritated and have gone into some depression.

I am having an Arthogram done on the 9th due to the fact of the limited mobility. He thinks that the original MRI did not show all of the damage.

His exact words after surgery was all of the soft tissue and fiberous tissue basically exploded. They had to decompress the shoulder meaning they had to take out a very small part of my collar bone, they had to decompress a nerve, they found debris where the collar bone and the shoulder joint meets so they had to scrape the bone and then repair the Labrum. He said that my Labrum was torn half way around. The best way to describe the tear is look at a clock. Start at 10 and go back to 4 counter clockwise.

As for going back to work. My company will not let me come back untill I can pass that CRT physical Excersion Test. When I told my Doc that he said it would be a year before I can do that.