Ladder Falls: Even The Most Experienced Can Fall

According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, about 165,000 Americans require medical treatment for ladder-related injuries each year. Based on a 1990-2005 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, that number is escalating. During the course of the study, from beginning to end, the number of reported cases in which Americans were hurt in incidents involving ladders climbed by more than 50 percent. Other ladder-injury findings from the study:

• More than 2.1 million people sought emergency treatment in the United States for ladder-related injuries.
• Of those injuries, almost 10 percent resulted in hospitalization or transfer to another hospital.
• The most frequently reported injuries were fractures.
• In cases in which the location where the injury took place was recorded, 97 percent happened at home.
• In nearly 77 percent of the cases, the injured party was male.

Accidental Fall Statistics, of course, require lots of time up and down ladders. Even if you're fortunate enough to avoid a ladder-related injury, a fall from the roof itself can happen. According to the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Falls were the leading cause of nonfatal, medically treated injuries in the U.S. every single year from 1997 through 2007. The majority of reported falls occurred in or around the home. Falls were the cause of 38 percent of nonfatal, medically treated injuries in 2007. From 1997 to 2007, 71 percent of fall-related injuries resulted in at least a trip to a doctor's office or clinic. Of that 71 percent, 56 percent were serious enough to necessitate a visit to an emergency room or the use of an emergency vehicle. Between 2004 and 2007, accidental falls accounted for almost 25 percent of all reported fractures.

Mortality Rates: The risk of serious injury in a fall increases, of course, as the height off the ground increases. Falls can be catastrophic, disabling people for life, or even ending lives. Here are some sobering statistics to encourage you to think twice before making that climb to your roof: The Home Safety Council says that falls are "by far the leading cause of home injury deaths." Accidental falls killed 20,823 people in 2006, according to the CDC. That's more people than the Miami Heat's American Airlines Arena seats. A 2009 article from the Mayo Clinic listing men's top 10 health threats names falls as one of the leading causes of fatal accidents.

Statistics readily note the number and severity of injuries that routinely occur across the country from ladder falls. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission states that approximately 165,000 Americans go to clinics and emergency rooms every year to receive treatment for ladder-related injuries. Accidental falls in general killed almost 21,000 people in 2006, according to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the May Clinic notes this: Falls from heights constitute a top-10 health threat for males and are one of the leading causes of death for men.

FALLS FROM ELEVATIONS: Falls from elevation hazards are present at most every jobsite, and many workers are exposed to these hazards daily. Any walking/working surface could be a potential fall hazard. An unprotected side or edge which is 6 feet or more above a lower level should be protected from falling by the use of a guardrail system, safety net system, or personal fall arrest system. These hazardous exposures exist in many forms, and can be as seemingly innocuous as changing a light bulb from a step ladder to something as high-risk as connecting bolts on high steel at 200 feet in the air. Based on data from the NIOSH National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) Surveillance System, falls from elevations were the fourth leading cause of workplace death from 1980 through 1994. The 8,102 deaths due to falls from elevations accounted for 10% of all occupational fatalities during this period and an average of 540 deaths per year.

Downtown window washer recuperating after April fall: Charles Bradford has reason to be sore. The Paducah window washer is finally home but still healing from injuries suffered in a fall from a ladder April 9 that shattered both his femurs, his right wrist and the orbital bone of his face. But that’s not why the 62-year-old was really sore Thursday. “I stood up while I was ministering (on Wednesday),” Bradford said in his home on Park Avenue. “The pastor asked me to bring a message, and I got comfortable standing up. I should have sat down.” Pictured: X-ray print-outs show some of the repair work that has allowed Charles Bradford to recuperate and come back to his Paducah home this week.

Chicago Fire Fighter Killed in Fall From Ladder: Christopher Wheatley was doing what firefighters do -- climbing a ladder, weighed down with gear, moving toward smoke instead of away -- when he slipped and fell 35 feet to his death. It was a gut shot to the Chicago Fire Department, the first time in more than a decade a firefighter has died battling a blaze. And when Ambulance 15 carried Wheatley's body to the morgue early Monday, dozens of fire vehicles and police cars lined the streets, their lights flashing as officers along the route silently saluted. "It's hard to put into words. I'm still digesting it," said Dan Zeller, who works out of a firehouse across the street from Wheatley's West Side condominium. "He's one of us. It couldn't hit any closer to home." Zeller added that, "It could happen to any one of us." Shortly after midnight, Wheatley and other firefighters had responded to a grease-chute fire at Avec restaurant on Randolph Street in the West Loop. He was climbing the building's fire-escape ladder carrying an air tank, a water pump that weighed more than 40 pounds and a tool used to pry open doors. "They had to go up to the roof to open the area where the grease chute extended through," said fire Commissioner Robert Hoff, his voice wavering with emotion. "Firefighter Christopher Wheatley was making his way up to the roof on a ladder that was attached to the building, carrying his equipment. Apparently he slipped and fell to the ground, causing critical injuries. They worked to save his life, but it was too late." Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said damage to the restaurant was minimal. Early indications are that Wheatley lost his footing on the fire escape's ladder, Langford said, but fire officials will fully review the incident Tuesday.

Shattered Lives - worth a look, here & here.

Featured before - but still worth a look..