Ladders: How Dangerous Are They?
Over Labor Day weekend, I was helping a friend with a project, and I watched another gentleman fall from about 9 ft off the ground, breaking his lower leg pretty badly. Badly enough that we could immediately see that his leg didn’t look right, and we needed to call an ambulance.
Without going into how it happened, I will point out OSHA’s stance, which is that they believe every fall is preventable with the proper planning, equipment, and training. In this particular case, I certainly agree.
This incident got me thinking, because I’ve spent the majority of my life involved in sports like climbing, surfing, and skiing which are objectively dangerous, and you’re constantly examining your own ability and surroundings, to be as safe as you can be, within that context. We all have our own degree of comfort with hazardous situations.
I’ve also been hurt while climbing, and I had another near miss or 2. These incidents are partly why I ended up back in graduate school. I was stuck at home, filling out applications with a pretty pink cast on my arm, partly dreaming of alpine rock climbs, and partly wondering if I shouldn’t test my luck much further, and maybe graduate school could be a different type of adventure.
There certainly aren’t any guarantees that trying to be safe is actually going to keep you safe, and I’ve certainly experienced that.
The same is true for construction, which has a certain degree of objective hazards that exist.
You’re working with sharp tools, sometimes off the ground, moving heavy things, often around exposed electrical equipment, often in the elements, and around other people who you may or may not know.
A lot can go wrong, and insurance companies will make sure you know that, and they will make sure that you pay for it.
Is the Ladder the Most Dangerous Tool?
Over the years I’ve heard things like “a ladder is the most dangerous tool”, and this past weekend’s incident made me want to dig into the statistics a bit, to really understand the dangers of ladders.
If we start by zooming out, to look at all incidents (both occupational and non-occupational) it’s generally reported by the CDC that there are about 500,000 people treated for ladder related injuries in the US each year, and about 300 of these injuries prove to be fatal.
The BIG thing to point out is that ~97% of these injuries are non-occupational, and occur at the home or on a farm.
Further, in general, the largest total number of fatal work injuries are with workers over 55 years old.
Looking globally, the WHO points out that “falls” are the 2nd leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide, with over 37 million hospitalizations and almost 700,000 fatalities annually.
They reiterate that older age groups have the greatest number of fatal falls.
The other 2 leading causes of “unintentional injury deaths” are motor vehicle deaths (more on that next week), and unintentional poisoning, which tragically and infuriatingly, has been on the rise significantly over the last 20 years, due to drug overdoses.
To put that further into context, according to the CDC, “unintentional injury deaths” are the 3rd leading cause of death, behind only heart diseases (#1), and cancer (#2).
To Summarize:
“Unintentional injury deaths” are overall, the 3rd leading cause of death, behind only heart diseases and cancer.
Within the “unintentional injury deaths” category, in 2018, “falls” are the 2nd leading cause of deaths worldwide, behind “unintentional poisoning” and ahead of “motor vehicle traffic”.
More than 37 million people worldwide, and more than 500,000 people domestically, are treated annually in hospitals for fall related injuries.
Age is a major contributing factor as well, because the highest number of falls occur with people 55+. As you age, you also have a higher likelihood of severe injury due to a fall.
Conclusion:
The WHO considers “falls” a legitimate worldwide public health concern, which should trigger some warning bells for all of us.
Even if you don’t die in a fall, you have a very high likelihood of ending up in the hospital if you do fall. There aren’t many aspects of life where this degree of risk is acceptable, so it’s important to remember that when we consider doing work off the ground.
Finally, the fact that the vast majority of these injuries are non-occupational really shows us that OSHA is probably correct in saying that with proper planning, equipment, and training, these falls are (mostly) avoidable.
The statistics that are specific to “occupational” injuries are also helpful to look at, but I’ll get into that in a 2nd part, next week.
Let's stay as safe as we all reasonably can,
-Chris
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