It may be easy to fall off a ladder, but this is not something you ever want to experience. If this happens, you can be faced with serious injury or even death.
A recent study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report notes that falls remain the top cause of unintentional injury in the United States. Furthermore, 43 percent of fatal falls over the past 10 years have involved a ladder.
In addition to people who are injured or killed in a ladder accident at home, this is also a big problem in the workplace. The report cites that among workers, roughly 20 percent of all fall injuries involved a ladder. Furthermore, when you focus solely on construction workers, approximately 81 percent of fall injuries that are treated at an emergency room involve a ladder.
In 2011 alone, work related ladder fall injuries caused 113 fatalities. Additionally, tens of thousands of workers were injured in a ladder fall.
Some other interesting points from the study include:
— Companies with fewer employees have the highest fatality rates.
— Head injuries are common in fatal injuries.
— Work-related ladder fall injury rates are highest in the construction industry.
If you fall off a ladder, either at home or at work, you could be injured or killed. Of course, if you are extremely lucky, you may walk away from the situation uninjured.
In the event that this occurs at your place of employment, it’s important to report the incident to your company as soon as possible. Of course, nothing is more important than seeking immediate medical care.
Source: EHS Today, “CDC: There’s Nothing ‘Easy’ About Falling Off a Ladder,” accessed April 11, 2016
