Ladder Safety

[pirate]

I am posting this not to lecture others, draw comments about my stupidity but hoping that those who read this will think about how they use ladders and to do so safely!

A little less then two weeks ago I was working in my shop stapling a NASCAR banner near the ceiling which is about 10 1/2 feet. In the corner of my shop I have three steps coming down out of our home. It makes using a ladder there very difficult. I have a long enough ladder that would have allowed me to prop it over the door opening but instead chose to lean a six foot step ladder against the edge of the door frame. One of those "this won't take long, not worth getting the other ladder moments" I even remember thinking this is not a very safe thing to do.

As a result of my own stupidity I ended up on the concrete floor knocked out cold. Fortunately my wife was home heard the commotion and found me and was able to get me to the hospital. I also have no recollection of about three hours from that night although bits and pieces are coming back.

I ended up with a severe concussion lots of bruises, a few cuts but no broken bones. Spent an entire day not being able to get out of bed with vertigo, nausea throwing up. Several days of being in a fog and forgetting things. Only now am I really starting to feel like myself again. Bottom line is I could have very easly been killed or injured more severly. I'm very thankful!

Probably less then a few seconds lapsed in the whole incident but it could have been life changing for me, my family and friends. Again the reason I am posting is with the hope that just one person will heed this warning and think about their own safety. Saving a couple minutes is certainly not worth the risk.

 

[pdangerp]

Many people die from ladder falls each year. It's a sad thing to hear about somebody's dad that died falling off a ladder trying to hang christmas lights or something stupid like that.

 

[38Chevy454]

Even when that little voice in our head says not to, we often fail to heed that advice. We all should listen better to that voice. Good thing you did not have any more serious injuries, could have been much worse outcome.

 

[ct71rr]

Similar story for me but, not as bad; When I was taking off the old carport side of my garage, I was using a 6 foot ladder to pull the last remaining pieces of plywood off of the roof. I was standing on the second to top step on uneven ground while doing this. I had one last piece about 3 feet long and 2 feet wide that was giving me some trouble so, I climbed up one more step to get some leverage and started really pulling on it. Well, it finally let go and knocked the ladder out from under me. I went flying and landed on my left side. I felt like I broke all of my ribs. I got the wind knocked out of me and my left ear was full of dirt from hitting the ground. My 7 year old son was playing nearby and heard me hit the ground. He came running over and helped wipe the dirt off my head/face. It took me a few minutes before I could get to my feet. I only got a few bumps and bruises...Not fun...

 

[davbell22602]

I know to use a ladder/roof hook when using a ladder on a steep metal roof to paint it or interlock the ladders from the ground and have someone hold the ladder thats on thats being used from the ground.

I refuse to go up/down a ladder unless someone holds for at all times when I'm on it.

 

[tcianci]

Been there, done that got the bone chips in my elbow to prove it. No need to tell you how dumb you were... I was dumb way before you. We all know what's safe and we all think we can cheat the laws of physics

 

[ddawg16]

Can I relate?.....

Built a 2-story garage...lifted every single board and 4x8 sheet....sunk every nail....did I hurt myself?.....Nooooooo.....but the moment I try to just tack up some final detail trim....I drop a hammer on my head and end up with 7 staples......

Yea...I can relate....

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Saturday, I leaned a 16' extension ladder up on the side of a 50 year old Elm tree to trim a 6" diameter branch off, that was probably about 25' long, running mostly horizontal, and a little vertical.

So I'm up at about 16', I saw 2/3rds of the way through the branch, leaving the last 1/3rd attached, so it would it would be a slow, controlled fall.

Didn't work out, the last 3rd, it ripped away from the tree, the branch fell, canopy down first, and then BOUNCED straight back up at me, the thick park I just cut landed on both my arms, that I was using to hold myself on the ladder. The load of this branch slowly rotated me around the side of the tree trunk, which caused me to fall, with the ladder and branch on top of me.

I could not see this coming,... anyhow, I came away would bruised pride and bruised arms, and pulled muscles. I was excavating earlier right below the tree and had a pillow soft landing (at least in the terms of falling on the ground).

I hate ladders, I have a work basket for my forklifts and skid loader, but I cant operate both a loader and a chainsaw at the same time, might be time for a boom lift....

Oh, and I had two other ladder accidents in my life, Ive been lucky every time, I really do hate ladders...

 

[Arne73]

I've been staining the house the last 3 weeks (between shifts and off weekends) and caught myself leaning way too too far a couple times in the interest of time (rushing the job).
Thanks for sharing your story, complacency on a ladder can kill.

 

[babzog]

Had a ladder up a tree sawing a limb to clear a shooting lane for my tree stand. Tried to saw a little cut underneath so that the top cut would cause the branch to simply drop rather than droop and hit the ladder, etc. Not a bad plan, eh? Well, I cut too much on the underside, the branch pinched the saw which shot it back at me. I held onto it, but the force pushed me off balance and off the side of the ladder. I managed to grab the ladder with one hand while holding the saw in the other. So, here's me, dangling off the ladder, running saw in one hand and the other rapidly tiring from holding up my bulk. Managed to drop myself down okay. Never even entered my mind to toss the saw in those few moments, was only thinking "how the hell am I gonna get down?" I hate heights and yeah, I hate ladders too.

 

[Sweet Old Bill]

I have been lucky, so far, and have not fallen from a ladder. Not everyone is so lucky, i know several people that have been seriously injured in falls from six foot step ladders and two people that have died from falls from the standard homeowner six foot aluminum ladders.

The human skull can reach terminal velocity in just a four foot fall. That does not mean that you will die every time that you fall four feet; but it can happen.

I tie my extension ladder down before I go up. I tie off to something on both sides; locked door knob; pipe; or if nothing is available, I use the corkscrew type dog chain anchors. I screw them into the ground and use a cargo strap to keep the ladder from moving.

I would not rely on someone to hold the ladder steady; if you lean too far, very few people could stop the ladder from moving & most anyone can be distracted at the very worst possible moment.

I dumped my six foot aluminum step ladder and bought a seven foot fiberglass step ladder. It works even with eight foot ceilings and the base of the triangle is wider, makes it more stable. You only have one life.

 

[SteveL]

Glad you wer'nt hurt any worse! Lost half of my right pinky finger while dry walling the ceiling in my garage in 2001. I was holding up one end of the sheet while a freind screwed it in place. He said you can let go and as I started to get down, the ladder started to walk and I instinctively grabbed the closest thing which was the Y brace that holds up the door track. Finger came off clean as the bracket acted as a guillotine. Landed on my feet and looked to see my finger missing. Looked around on the floor and realized that it was still up there. My freind had to climb up and get it. Didn't really hurt that much but boy was I pissed!

Ended up in the ER for three hours to get it stitched up and my freinds now refer to me as 9 1/2. Other bad part is that my wife was on her way home from a trip and had no idea this happened until she came home to the waiting policeman with the news.

Oh yea, and the crappy aluminum step ladder is permanently retired in the attic.

 

[nate379]

Funny you bring falling up.

I fell off my shed roof a few days ago. I was going to post on here but decided I didn't want to hear the armchair quarterbacks telling me what I did wrong or what I should have done.

I fell about 11-12ft from roof edge to ground. Was on my stomach going down but ended up about 15ft away from the edge on my back. I'm not sure if I spun in mid air or hit the ground with my feet and then flew on my back.

Landed right on top of the ladder that fell over as well.

Nothing broken, but I hurt in places I didn't know I had. Simple stuff like putting on pants or going to the bathroom is a challenge on it's own. It took me close to 5 mins to get in my car last night to get to work. I about was in tears from the pain.

 

[Bear]

Been there, done that - after Christmas 2006 fell off a step ladder in the garage no more than 4-5 feet to the concrete. Broke my heel bone (don't do that) which required some screws and was bad enough but then contracted a staff infection. That took two more operations, hospital stays, intervenious antibiotics and another year to get under control. I'll be on antibiotics for the rest of my life, thank you very much. Four years later still have pain and limping - life will never be the same. Please be carefull this could be you!

Bear

 

[Rickster55]

Another ladder victim here! Was climbing down an extension ladder against the house. The ladder started walking. Once it cleared the roof line - goodbye ladder. It was only about eight feet off the ground. I landed on my feet. However, my momentum carried me backwards and got tangled up in the bouncing aluminum ladder. Fell on the ladder which was on top of my leg. Open tib/fib fracture, 4 days in the hospital, 19 screws. Just over a year later, still not walking right. Prob never will. I have gotten back on ladders again but am much more safety conscience. I keep the ladder as a reminder when I have to use one. I'll never use that ladder again.

 

[Coolabah]

Saving a couple minutes is certainly not worth the risk.

I think that is is great that you are posting this. Anyone on this forum that can place their hand on their heart and say " I have always practised safe work place protocols without fail" ... is delusional


2 stories : I was like 6 years old , lying on the ground ( playing with toy cars- what else ??) in the driveway of my 2 storey home which was being painted by 2 pro painters- my dad was , as I have since learned in my life, smarter by far than I am - he was paying someone else to do this kinda stuff. Anyways, I was watching this guy painting that bit of wood where the apex is in between arranging mini auto wrecks- so like he was at the very top of the house when he just fell backwards, spun like Jackie Chan I think like 3 times mid air and landed ON HIS FEET just inches from my nose, he staggered a bit , groaned and lay down- he'd knackered both his knees as it turned out later but he was surprisingly alive.

Typical kid, I just ignored the whole thing.... shulda learned something from that !!!


Fast forward, early 20's , no money , painting my first house.... Oh... so my ladder is only 12 foot but the high side of the house is 2 storeys.... Oh, OK ... rig a platform , lash the ladder to it with really good knots......

You guessed it , whole thing collapsed and with pure luck + the vigour of youth I grabbed the gutter with one hand, and was swinging mid-air until I pulled myself onto the roof.

Trust me, I would not be able to pull that off now.....too many beers weighing down my gut, for one !

Ladder safety: Oh yes, take care indeed !

 

[v7guy]

I was thinking many of these same thoughts while I was reaching to clean my gutters for the second time this week.
small instances like this can change your life thanks for posting to bring some reality to our laziness.

 

[Kevin54]

Been there done that with a ladder. I used to have a very bad habit of hanging my claw hammer on the rung of an extension ladder when I was climbing down to cut something. I went in to eat, came out forgot where I put it until I grabbed the ladder to look on the roof and it bashed me in the head. Then I was standing up between two ceiling joist that were in a 1900's house that were rough sawed and still had some lath nails in it. I was up to where my waist was at the rafter/ceiling joist running some wire and couldn't quite reach. The ladder kicked and I scraped up both sides from my waist to my wrist, under my armpits. Not fun being scraped up like that when it is in the heat of the summer. Sweat might as well been turpentine

Now I am very cautious as to what I do on a ladder. If I can't reach it, I'll take the time to move it. Getting hurt is too painful anymore

 

[santagary]

Fell off the ladder on my large Kubota tractor after moving some hay...one should come down ladders backwards, not frontwards like stairsteps! Knee replacement in my near future as a result! Dummy!

 

[Stuey]

Wow, these are some scary stories!

 

[rickycobra]

I always remember my dad tell me not play around in the garage or not pay attention. It's scary that everything in you garage can hurt you badly but it what we all love to do is be working in our garages. I'm thankful that my father used the scare tactic he did for me to take the work seriously and not lightly.

 

[tcianci]

We were building an addition on a house in RI... We heard really urgent screaming from a backyard somewhere behind our project. Normally I guess we ignore other peoples noise but this sounded really serious. We cut through the hedges into the next row of houses and followed the sound. There was a guy who managed to get his feet pinched between the rungs of an extension ladder and his weight was keeping him pinned there. The bucket of paint he was using was all over the ground, the brush was there too and he was white as a sheet and had pissed himself. We had to get on either side of the ladder, hold it slightly away from the building and slide one section with respect to the other with him still on it...it wasn't easy but we got him free.

He just collapsed on the ground when he got off the ladder, I think he was going into shock but he refused to let us call an ambulance or drive him to the ER, We stayed with him for quite a while and finally he felt that he could get up and walk.

To this day I can't figure out how the ladder was set up to let this happen. I keep thinking that if it simply wasn't latched, it should have collapsed but I'm not sure how he got his toes between the rungs. The guy was lucky to be able to walk at all after that one.