On 29 July 1954, Dohring fell from the centre span of the Story Bridge into the Brisbane River below. An officer on the freighterDaylesford heard the splash and dispatched two seamen in a ship's boat who dragged the unconscious Dohring from the water. He suffered extensive injuries and was placed in an iron lung at the Brisbane General Hospital. When he recovered consciousness, he told police he must have blacked out because he had no memory of the fall. Doctors said he was lucky to have survived. By late August, he was well enough to return to his parliamentary duties.