Common Injuries From Falling Off a Ladder

Falls from ladders in the workplace can occur because of an error committed by a worker or the negligence of an employer. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), workers should be aware of the three most common causes of ladder falls.

Poorly Designed Ladder

Manufacturers of ladders can be held legally liable for allowing inferior constructed ladders to reach workplaces. From a rung that breaks free to a ladder that loses its stability, a worker who falls because of a manufacturer’s error might have a strong enough case to file a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. At the very least, a faulty ladder used in the workplace that causes injuries can qualify an employee to receive workers’ compensation insurance benefits.

Lack of Maintenance

Employers assume the legal responsibility to maintain equipment, which includes the ladders used by employees to reach elevated heights for performing work. Just a lack of timely inspections can lead to using a ladder that contains one or more serious flaws. Although lack of maintenance can be considered negligence, the issue of why a ladder did not receive proper maintenance becomes a moot legal point under your state’s workers’ comp program.

Improper Use

Sometimes, the responsibility for sustaining one of the common injuries from falling off a ladder lies with the user of a ladder. Perhaps a worker did not set up a ladder at the correct extension angle or an employee used a ladder in the wrong circumstance. Regardless of the reason, an employee who improperly uses a ladder has the right to file a workers’ compensation claim to recover the financial losses generated by a workplace accident.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) publishes a guide that instructs workers on how to follow ladder safety standards.

Ladder falls cause more than 300 deaths and 500,000 injuries throughout the United States each year. The majority of the incidents occur in the workplace where employees need to reach an elevated height to perform work-related tasks. Many of the most common injuries from falling off a ladder can be serious enough to warrant immediate emergency medical care.

Fractures

The powerful impact of a body hitting the floor or ground can fracture a hip, arm, and/or rib. When someone falls from an elevated height, the natural protective action is to use one or both arms to brace the body against the impact it is about to take. The higher the elevation at the time of a fall from a ladder, the more serious the resulting fractured bone.

Spinal Cord Damage

A spinal cord injury can significantly alter how the brain communicates with the rest of the body. The negative consequences of a spinal cord injury can mean a victim can no longer walk without assistance or even get up from a sitting position. Spinal cord damage can destroy enough fibers to cause paralysis in at least one extremity of the body. Once again, the height of a fall determines the severity of a spinal cord injury.

Traumatic Brain Injury

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) develops when the brain swells and pushes against the inside of the skull. The devastating result of a TBI can be bleeding and/or the tearing of nerves located inside of the brain. Serious TBIs can diminish memory, trigger convulsions, and/or develop chronic fatigue symptoms. Falling from a ladder just a few feet above the floor or ground can cause a serious enough TBI that puts a worker in a life-threatening medical condition.

If you sustained one of the most common injuries from falling off a ladder in the workplace, you should learn how to navigate the workers’ compensation process. Although each state has established rules for filing a workers’ comp claim, the process is similar for employees to receive just compensation for their injuries.

Get Medical Care

You cannot expect to receive financial assistance to cover the costs associated with a fall from a ladder unless you receive medical care after the workplace incident. Even if you feel healthy enough to remain at the scene of a workplace accident, you eventually should undergo diagnostic tests to determine the severity of your symptom. For example, injuries such as whiplash and concussions frequently do not develop symptoms until several hours or a couple of days after a fall from a ladder.

Report the Incident to Your Employer

For a workplace accident, your employer facilitates the processing of a workers’ compensation claim by explaining your rights, as well as providing you with the proper documents to initiate a claim. Because of your employer’s legal obligations, you should inform your employer about a workplace accident such as a fall from a ladder as soon as possible after the incident. Most states give employees up to 30 days to inform employers about a workplace accident that causes one or more injuries.

Complete and Submit the Workers’ Comp Form

One of the most important reasons for hiring one of the experienced workers’ compensation attorneys at Morgan and Morgan is to ensure you file the most persuasive claim. After your employer gives you the documents you need to submit with a claim, you have a limited amount of time to return the documents to your employer. Along with accurately completing the workers’ compensation form, you also must attach copies of medical bills and records, along with the statements provided by witnesses.

Insurance Company Decision

The amount of time your employer’s insurance company takes to issue a decision on your claim depends on the complexity of your workers’ compensation case. By hiring one of the highly-rated workers’ comp lawyers at Morgan and Morgan, you should be able to track the progress of your claim as it moves through the system. Your employer’s insurance company might delay the review process by requiring you to undergo additional medical tests, as well as interview one or more of the witnesses that saw you fall from a ladder.

Return to Work

As opposed to a disability program funded at the federal level, a workers’ compensation claim is designed to meet short-term medical and daily expense needs. If your injuries improve to the point of allowing you to get back to work, your employer is legally obligated to provide reasonable accommodations in the workplace. You can also request a change of jobs to minimize the physical limitations that develop after a fall from a ladder.

Hiring a workers' compensation lawyer can help you recover financially from one of the common injuries associated with falling off a ladder. The key is to hire a legal counselor that possesses the following professional credentials. 

Does Not Represent Employers

Many workers’ compensation lawyers represent both employees and employers. This arrangement can lead to a conflict of interest if your attorney has previously represented your employer during a workers’ comp claim.

At Morgan and Morgan, we represent only employees during workers’ compensation cases.

Workers’ Compensation Specialist

You should avoid working with a legal counselor who does not specialize in handling workers’ compensation cases. This type of law practice requires the full-time expertise of a litigator, not a lawyer who treats workers’ compensation cases as a part-time job. Morgan and Morgan devotes an entire legal division to the practice of workers’ compensation law.

Works With You From Start to Finish

When you hire an attorney, you expect the lawyer to provide support throughout the entire legal process. However, many workers’ comp attorneys delegate legal responsibilities to paralegals and/or other less experienced and accomplished litigators. At Morgan and Morgan, the workers’ compensation attorney that we assign to your case represents you from the day of the free case evaluation to the day when your employer’s insurance company issues a favorable decision.

How do you measure the professional reputation of a workers’ compensation attorney? You can read the client testimonials uploaded to a lawyer’s or law firm’s website. The better measurement of an attorney's reputation is by reading the reviews left by clients on sites such as Facebook and Google. After more than 35 years of representing clients, Morgan and Morgan has received hundreds of positive reviews that praise the application of our attorney’s legal skills to workers’ compensation cases.

Schedule a free case evaluation with Morgan and Morgan to file the most persuasive workers’ compensation claim.