Ladder Accidents

What Are Ladder Accident Injuries?

Ladder accident injuries typically involve a fall from a ladder. Falls often occur when transferring from the ladder to another platform or vice versa. However, they can also be caused by other sources of instability.

Common Types Of Ladder Injuries

When you fall off a ladder, the severity of your injuries is usually proportional to the height from which you fall. The following injuries are some of the most common in ladder accidents:

• Broken bones
• Spinal cord injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
• Soft tissue injuries
• Death

Ladder fall injuries can be deceptive. A seemingly minor injury could prove life-threatening if you don’t get medical attention swiftly.

Ladder Injury Symptoms

How do you know if you have suffered a serious injury after a ladder fall? There are several symptoms that you should watch out for, including:

• Difficulty walking
• Inability to lift heavy or even moderate-weight objects
• Dizziness or nausea
• An increase in pain after the accident
• Significant swelling
• Skin discoloration

These are all signs that your injury may be more serious than you originally thought. Dizziness, for example, could indicate that what you thought was a bump on the head was actually a concussion or other type of brain injury.

Preventing Ladder Injuries

According to ladder injury statistics from the CDC, there were 161 workplace fatalities and over 20,000 injuries due to ladder accidents in 2020. The number of fatalities decreased by 21% in 2024, but that still means almost 130 people died in ladder-related accidents that year.

Based on these numbers, you may be wondering how to prevent severe workplace injuries from ladder accidents. There is no perfect answer, but taking the following precautions can limit the risk of ladder accidents:

• Always wear OSHA-mandated personal protective gear before climbing a ladder.
• Make sure all ladders are placed on stable surfaces.
• Always have somebody stationed at the bottom of a ladder to help keep it stable.
• Take extra care when transferring to or from a ladder.
• Follow any other workplace safety rules regarding the use of ladders.

The better that everybody follows and respects workplace safety rules, the fewer injuries that occur in the workplace.

Causes And Risk Factors

So, why do ladder accidents happen? More often than not, they happen because somebody violates a workplace safety rule. But most workers don’t seek to put themselves in danger. 

Safety violations usually occur for the following reasons:

• Workers aren’t appropriately trained in safety procedures.
• Workers aren’t provided with safety equipment.
• Workers ignore safety procedures because they are in a rush.
• Workers ignore safety procedures because they are distracted.
• A ladder is unsafe or inappropriate for how it is being used.

As an employee, it can be difficult to point out a danger to your employer or refuse to do work because it is unsafe. However, this is exactly what you should do when you see an unsafe situation. 

You have the right to work in safe conditions, and you can’t legally be fired for refusing to perform unsafe duties. If you identify a risk factor, notify your employer right away.

Workers’ Compensation Eligibility

Workers’ compensation eligibility rules are reasonably simple. If you are performing work duties as dictated by your position, and you are injured while performing those duties, you are eligible to claim workers’ compensation benefits.

This means you don’t have to be “at your workplace.” Many ladder accidents, for example, occur at construction sites. Even though those sites aren’t owned by the employer, they are the work site for the employees that day. Assuming you are doing your job when you fall off a ladder, you could get workers’ compensation if you were at a construction site.

The same could even apply if the location wasn’t technically a work site. For example, if you were examining a potential worksite and fell off a ladder, that is still considered a work duty.

Legal Steps After A Ladder Injury

So, what should you do to protect your ability to get compensation after a ladder injury? The first thing you should do is get immediate medical attention. You will need proof that you were injured and documentation showing the severity of your injuries. The medical records created during a medical evaluation provide that proof.

Additionally, you should report your injury to your employer as soon as possible. Workers’ compensation claims have strict reporting requirements. You will be required to fill out paperwork and file it with your employer and the Department of Labor and Employment on tight deadlines.

How Bachus & Schanker Can Help After A Fall From Ladders

If you make any mistakes after a ladder injury, there are two common penalties. The most common penalty is that any compensation you receive will be delayed. Miss a deadline and you can often make it up, but you won’t be compensated for several weeks.

In the worst-case scenario, though, a missed deadline could mean that you are permanently barred from getting some or all of the compensation you are eligible for. While unlikely, that penalty can be financially devastating.

An experienced workers’ compensation attorney at Bachus & Schanker can help you navigate the workers’ compensation claim process. Our Colorado lawyers have decades of experience handling these cases and will ensure that you fulfill all the requirements to get fair compensation for your injuries.

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