Preventing Ladder Injuries: One Step at a Time
Almost every company I have worked with concerning safety, or Workers Compensation losses, has some type of case about "That" worker who either fell off of some sort of ladder.
You wouldn't think it would be that difficult to manage yourself carefully when elevated. But sure enough, people tend to forget that last step, or come down wrong on their foot or even have a co-worker quickly pass by and accidentally hit the ladder.
Bottome line, unsafe practices on or around a ladder is just asking for a loss.....which costs you money, much less how it hurts that person. According to the CDC & Prevention article: Were you aware that:
1. 43% of falls off a ladder ended in a fatality?
2 81% of falls in the construction industry involved a ladder
3. 20% of fall injuries involve a fall from a ladder
Let's also look at the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) report on ladder safety statistics:
More than 90,000 people receive emergency room treatment from ladder-related injuries every year
Elevated falls account for almost 700 occupational deaths annually
These deaths account for 15% of all occupational deaths
OSHA believes 100% of all ladder accidents could be prevented if proper attention to equipment and climber training were provided
Over the last 10 years the amount of ladder-related injuries has increased 50%
According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 50% of all ladder-related accidents were due to individuals carrying items as they climbed
The most common type of ladder-related injury, with 32%, is fractures
These are staggering percentages. Now you take your typical minor injury with a loss of about $17K in Workers Compensation, at a 20% profit margin, your business would have to make additional sales of about $255K to make for the hard and soft costs for that injury.
Take a look at the linked article as a resource concerning how to protect yourself and your business from falls from a ladder. Safety & Health Magazine. If you need some help or specified training for your business.....feel free to email Compliance & Safety First or call us at 909-481-7223. We will help!
Do you have some ladder safety tales you can share? Please do.....
