Preventing Ladder Accident
There is a common misconception that tall ladders are the only ladders that cause fatal accidents. However, a number of life-altering, even fatal, accidents can and do occur from working heights of less than six feet.
Back in 2014, a 33-year-old window washer climbed up his ladder and tied a five-gallon bucket to the top of it so he could wash some windows. Instead of placing the ladder so he could face the window, he had his back to the ladder. Most of his weight was on the top rungs. With the added weight of the bucket, the ladder tipped over.
The man had a seizure after he fell and passed away in the hospital 14 hours later in a local hospital. The man was standing less than 6 feet above the ground when this accident happened.
How To Prevent These Fatal Ladder Falls (and any ladder-related accident)
Here are a couple of steps that could have helped prevent this accident:
- -Provide hands-on training so workers know how to work safely
- -Have written safety material that details policies and procedures to be followed to avoid unsafe practices
- -Don't put heavy items on the top or side of the ladder
- -Never working from the top two rungs of a stepladder or top three rungs of an extension ladder
- -Never Overreach
- -Always face your ladder while working on it
- -Maintain three points of contact
