Destroy All Unsafe Ladders

[icemeister]

Here's a pic of a stepladder that had just been brought in to the shop of a local landscaping company. The maintenance guy there was going to repair it.....yet again.



Two of the legs had been "fixed" previously with wood, a third foot was broken, two of the fiberglass legs were cracked badly, the stays were loose and falling apart.....

I was there to service their ice machine, so while waiting for a batch to dump I had a chance to talk to the maintenance mechanic about it. He had planned on patching it up, but after hearing my broken back story it got quickly cut up and tossed in the dumpster.

[ron690]

ouch, a friend of mine just fell from a bad ladder. the extension guide broke. he fell 15 ft. to concrete. now,rt. heel crushed,left leg broken just below the knee joint, broken pelvis and broken left wrist.
always check your ladders and other safety equipment. this guy might not ever work again.
bad part is he's a single dad.

[i_got_ideas]

People don't think about it until it happens. I am one that hasn't fallen *yet* and I would've climbed that ladder.

I know several cases that should make me think twice including our most senior tech that has been laid up for the last 5 months with a neck injury from a fall.

It don't take a long fall either. A drywaller I knew when I was still in construction was working on a 6' step ladder, he was only about 4 steps up when he fell. The way he fell, his legs went forward, trapping his feet on the back side of the steps. With no chance of catching himself his head took the full force of the hit. He was in a deep comma for 3 days before being pronounced clinically dead.

Another thing we all need to watch for is stairways. In the past two years there have been 2 people I know fall down stairwalls that hadn't had the stairs put in yet. One guy fell the standard 9 foot and broke his back. The other was a lady, the homeowner, that fell 11 feet due to thier high ceilings in the basement, she had a dislocated shoulder and suffered a concusion.

Falling is nothing to be taken lightly. Gravity ALWAYS wins.

[Swampfox]

I guess the one I left leaning against the back of the van and backed over has to go, I have duct tape holding the splintered fiberglass together.....

[billygoat22]

Yes, destroy all questionable ladders.
I got rearended one day on highway and lond ext ladder sticking out back of truck was rammed into the cab of truck through the bulkhead, between the seats.
One of the feet was slightly bowed, but I wouldn't trust the thing not to fail at some place due to hidden damage from all that stress.

[absrbrtek]

I fell of an old wooden 8' while painting the house. Had just a little bit to go and heard the ladder "crack". Looked it over and saw nothing. Moved it to finish and one of the legs snapped off while I was about 6' up on it. Needless to say I was on my back with a trip to the hospital. Fortunatly I landed on grass and not concrete. Nothing really injured but my ego and sore for about a week. Chop those old ladders up before you get seriously injured.

[htg guy]

Originally posted by absrbrtek
I fell of an old wooden 8' while painting the house. Had just a little bit to go and heard the ladder "crack". Looked it over and saw nothing. Moved it to finish and one of the legs snapped off while I was about 6' up on it. Needless to say I was on my back with a trip to the hospital. Fortunatly I landed on grass and not concrete. Nothing really injured but my ego and sore for about a week. Chop those old ladders up before you get seriously injured.

Be sure to check the weight limitations next time, before climbing!

[Dad]

While at a job site a roofing company was completing repairs. They used a 24' aluminum ladder to 22' while it ws on a wooden box to help take it to the top.

I was 10 feet away when 6' 5" / 250 pound roofer hit the concrete next to my ladder that was tied off and on a lower part of the roof. He HAD 5 kids.

Edited... happy?

[Edited by lusker on 05-31-2004 at 09:21 PM]

[Dad]

although I typed 24" you know I meant 24'


sorry, and so are his kids

[The Penguin]

All this talk about bad ladders makes me think how lucky I was to fall 10 ft flat on my back and walk away with only sore back muscles for a day or two

[absrbrtek]

Thats what the edit button is for below your message. To change screwups.

Originally posted by lusker
although I typed 24" you know I meant 24'


sorry, and so are his kids

[oil lp man]

I used to work for a hvac co. in the 80s. I worked on commercial sheetmetal installs.
There were a few instances where OSHA showed up and lead installers would quickly run over and say throw out those extension cords and that ladder, oh and that ladder too.
Funny how unimportant our safety is until they thought they might get fined for not being safe. And catch hell from the owner.

[wolfdog]

About a year ago I had an 8' fiberglass ladder dump me. It had a soft spot in one leg that was not obvious.
I was on the third step and when I fell, it broke both bones in my leg at the shin.

I now have some nice titanium hardware in my leg.......
and a new step ladder.

[will 2]

I know some bosses that would say, "30 sec with a sawzall will turn that POS 10' into a decent 8'."

[i_got_ideas]

Originally posted by will 2
I know some bosses that would say, "30 sec with a sawzall will turn that POS 10' into a decent 8'."

I know several as well

[dairyman]

I fell off a 6 ft fiberglass ladder in november. Had a compound fracture of my left wrist. Told the Dr that my shoulder hurt worse then my wrist---said lets get the wrist done first. Two months later they did a MIR on my shoulder and found a rotary cuff tear. Just had that fixed 6 weeks ago and now doing the therapy thing. Havent slept in the bed since the surgery. Me and the recliner are the best of buds!!! This was a work comp thing --the boss told me last week we're up to $28,000 on the whole deal so far. Didn't miss much work but have been doing a lot of weight limited jobs. Fortunate!! At any rate just take your time and be careful,its your body and you have to live with the pain.

[spotts]

before I bought Dad out. I bet it only took a month to kill all the shaky ones. Bugged Dad bad, I'd say "Hey! New ladders are CHEAP compared to one of these guys in a hospital bed!" Actually I've tossed all kinds of old unsafe tools, buy earplugs, gloves, safety glasses, etc. by the case. No booties tho. Just can't bring myself to do it. I wonder what James BR549 wouls say about a tech in booties?

[bmf]

he should have known to toss that ladder himself

[spotts]

Originally posted by bmf
he should have known to toss that ladder himself

Hell- there was a bunch of them. Dad was from the "Make Due With What You Got" generation. I remember forcing him to buy a rotary hammer after I got a compression fracture in my spine from breaking concrete with a 6' piece of 1¼" rebar with one end barely sharpened. I'm 39, that was 18 or so years ago and I am reminded of that day everyday.

[Edited by spotts on 06-01-2004 at 06:32 PM]

[oil lp man]

6 foot long rebar as a chisel?
Now thats just plain dumb.