If you, like many others across the state, earn your income working at Florida construction sites, you probably spend at least some part of your day working on ladders. Whether made from wood, steel, fiberglass or what have you, ladders pose clear, obvious risks, with falls from ladders a common source of injury among construction workers. Recognizing what causes the majority of today’s ladder accidents and injuries can help you and your colleagues use them safely and mitigate your injury risk while at work.
According to Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, one of the main causes of today’s ladder accidents is workers using the wrong ladders to perform certain jobs. Sometimes, this means workers are using shorter ladders than they should to reach heights, and this can lead to falls and associated fall-related injuries.
Many workers also try to use ladders that are too heavy, and this, too, is a main contributor to the high number of ladder accidents involving construction workers. When employees constantly move around particularly heavy ladders, this can also lead to sprains, strains and related injuries. Nowadays, you can typically replace an existing, heavy ladder with a far lighter fiberglass model, which can help protect you and others you work with from ladder-related injuries.
Other ladder accidents result from improper leveling of ladders, but this, too, is something that modern technology has made largely avoidable. Chances are, you or your employer can find leveling devices designed specifically for this purpose. You may, too, be able to purchase ladders that have leveling devices built directly into their designs. Overreaching is the fourth common cause of ladder accidents, and this can result from improper leveling as well as using a ladder that it too short for a particular task. Adding outriggers to the outside of the ladders you use can reduce the chance of a ladder accident caused by overreaching.
This information about common causes of ladder accidents is educational in nature and does not constitute legal advice.