A California construction site is an inherently dangerous place, and every time you show up to your job, you run the risk of suffering an injury related to your work environment. While working around heavy machinery, scaffolding and near-constant noise can prove risky in and of itself, there are also numerous hazards posed by working on or near ladders.
Per Industrial Safety & Hygiene News, many modern ladder accidents and injuries result from similar circumstances, and using a ladder that is overly heavy is among the most common culprits. When working construction, you may use and move your ladder numerous times throughout the day, and if your ladder is too heavy, this can lead to sprains, strains and repetitive motion injuries. If the ladders you use at work are too heavy, tell your employer. Nowadays, manufacturers often rely on fiberglass and other lightweight materials during fabrication to reduce ladder weight and help prevent injuries.
Modern ladder manufacturers are also adding leveling components to their ladders to help reduce the number of accidents related to leveling. In your line of work, you may rely on bricks or boards for this purpose, but this is typically not an ideal, effective or safe method.
Many ladder accidents also arise from people using the wrong ladders for the wrong jobs. While it may prove tiresome to lug ladders of varying heights to different job sites, using a too-short ladder for a particular task is never a good idea. Having the right ladders can also prevent another common cause of ladder accidents: overreaching.
Overreaching is a primary cause of tip-and-fall ladder accidents, which are responsible for thousands of injuries every year. Your employer can help reduce your on-the-job risk of a tip-and-fall accident caused by overreaching by applying outriggers to the bottom of your ladder.
While this information about ladder accident causes is informative, it is not meant to constitute legal advice.
