Ladder Safety Tips to Prevent Fall Injuries

Fall injuries are reportedly the number one cause of workers’ compensation claims in the U.S., as each year more than 9 million American workers seek hospital treatment after sustaining a fall accident. While many of these fall accidents occur due to slips or trips that cause people to take a tumble without falling from some height, nearly 50 percent of fall accidents involve people falling from heights of less than 21 feet (according to the Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America).

In fact, when fall accidents involve fatal injuries, nearly 3 out of every 4 of these accidents involve falls from roofs, scaffolding and ladders. Below, we will take a closer look at some essential ladder safety tips that can help prevent fall injuries, reduce the number of work accidents sustained by laborers each year and, ideally, save lives and promote increased workplace productivity.

Ladder Safety: What You Should and Should NOT Do When Using Ladders

If you regularly use ladders as part of your day-to-day work, then you should make sure that you are familiar with and follow these ladder safety tips so you can minimize your chances of sustaining a serious fall injury:

• Know and follow the 3 point of contact rule when using ladders – The 3 point of contact rule simply involves making sure that you always are in contact with the ladder at 3 points, which can include at both of your hands and one of your feet or at both of your feet and one of your hands.
• Always make sure that both of the ladder’s feet are firmly secure on a level surface before climbing the ladder.
• When climbing the ladder, always step in the center of the rungs and don’t attempt to lean off of the ladder; if you find that you are tempted to lean off the ladder, you will need to climb down the ladder, move it appropriately, and then re-climb it so that you can reach the desired object without leaning.
• Never climb up a ladder if there is already someone else using the ladder, and never stand on the top rung of the ladder.

Denver Workers’ Compensation Attorneys

Workers who suffer a personal injury on the job desire competent medical treatment and compensation to cover their lost wages as a result of their injuries. Because workers’ compensation requirements can be rigorous and confusing for both workers and for self-insured corporations, it is important to obtain legal counsel to help navigate the obstacles.

With more than 30 years of combined workers’ compensation experience, the Denver workers’ compensation attorneys at the Law Office of Steven J. Picardi have extensive knowledge of Colorado workers’ compensation law, strong credentials and a significant record of success that consistently allowed them to effectively defend employers and represent injured employees in all phases of workers’ compensation litigation. Our firm’s lawyers remain abreast of the latest changes in workers’ compensation laws and are ready to use their skills and knowledge to your advantage.

For experienced legal advocacy in defending or filing a workers’ compensation claim, contact the Picardi Law Firm for a consultation by calling (303) 778-8881 or by emailing us using the form at the top of the screen.