Ladder Accidents And Injuries

There are things that we use everyday, that we own in our homes, that can actually be very dangerous. We often take these items for granted, but when they fail or are misused, they can cause catastrophic injury. One such item is a ladder.

User Misuse

When people are injured on, or by using ladders, one of the most common defenses is that the user misused the ladder. That makes sense—many people don’t read directions on the ladder on its proper usage, or they use ladders in ways that they aren’t supposed to be used, or exceed the ladder’s maximum load capacity, among other user errors.

Ladders aren’t so easy to just move, so when something is out of reach, users often reach out or stretch themselves in ways that can throw them, or the ladder off balance.

The Environment

Even if someone uses the ladder properly, the surrounding environment can create danger. For example, someone may set up a ladder somewhere where the legs are not stable—perhaps slippery or uneven surfaces that prevent the bottom of the ladder from getting a proper grip.

Many people don’t give thought to where the ladder is set up, and will set them up in or around doorways or walkways, places where the ladder can get bumped or moved while someone is using it.

Third Party Liability, Including Manufacturers

This isn’t to say that every ladder accident is the user’s fault—other people often bump into ladders, or move them, or open doors where the ladders are located.

But often, when ladders fail, one of the biggest culprits are the ladder manufacturers.

Ladder accidents often become products liability cases. That’s one reason why, if you are injured on a ladder, one of the first things you should do (after getting medical attention, of course), is to preserve the ladder itself, in its current, presumably damaged condition. The ladder is evidence that will need to be reviewed by an expert to see if there are grounds for a defective product case.

There is no shortage of ways that ladders can be defective, but there are some defects that are more common than others.

For example, many ladders may be rated or labeled as being able to hold more weight than they actually can, leading users into a false sense of security, and causing them to overload the ladder. In other cases, steps to the ladder may be improperly fastened at the factory. Materials, especially in plastic ladders, may not be sturdy and durable enough, to bear the weight that the ladder is supposed to bear.

Height May Not Matter

When people fall from a ladder, it actually may not matter how high the fall is from. That’s because in many cases, the users’ injuries are from falling into the ladder itself, or from the broken parts of the ladder. And even at a relatively low height, the body is not in a position, when it falls from a ladder, to land safely, or in a way that protects vital body parts—it isn’t a controlled fall.

When Others are Injured

It isn’t always the person using the ladder that gets injured when ladders fail. Often, it’s others near the collapsing ladder. It isn’t unusual when a ladder falls, for not just the person, and not just the ladder to collapse, but anything that may have also been on that ladder. On heavier duty, industrial grade ladders, that may be heavy objects like tools or paint buckets falling on top of innocent people nearby.

Injured by a defective or collapsing ladder? Contact our Rhode Island injury lawyers at Robert E. Craven & Associates at 401-453-2700 for help.

Sources:

cdc.gov/niosh/newsroom/feature/ladder-safety.html

cdc.gov/niosh/falls/ladder/index.html

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9444339/