Ladder Injury Lawsuit – How to Bring a Claim

When you are injured in a ladder accident, you can file a personal injury claim against:

• the ladder manufacturer,
• the store that sold the ladder,
• the construction company that owned the ladder,
• the property owner where the accident occurred, and/or
• anyone else who may have contributed to the accident.

Damages in a personal injury lawsuit can cover your losses and expenses, including

• medical bills,
• loss of income,
• loss of earnings, and
• pain and suffering.

Below, our California personal injury attorneys discuss the following frequently asked questions about ladder accident injury lawsuits:

• 1. Legal grounds
• 2. Damages
• 3. Causes and injuries
• 4. Workers’ comp
• 5. Verdicts and settlements
• Additional resources

If you have further questions about ladder accidents after reading this article, we invite you to contact us at Shouse Law Group.

1. Legal grounds

When you are injured after falling from a ladder, you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover damages on the following grounds.

Negligent handling of the ladder

Most personal injury claims in the U.S. are based on “negligence.” If someone’s negligence may have caused your ladder accident, you have to prove the following elements to win damages in court:

1. The defendant owed you a duty of care;
2. The defendant breached that duty;
3. The breach caused your injuries; and
4. As a result of the breach, you suffered damages.¹

Example: Aaron agrees to climb a ladder to hang X-mas lights as long as Eric holds the ladder. While Aaron is on the ladder, Eric lets go to answer his phone. The ladder then wobbles and tilts, causing Aaron to fall and break his wrist. Aaron can sue Eric for negligence because he breached his duty to secure the ladder.

Ladder defects

If a ladder defect caused your injury, you can bring a product liability claim against the ladder manufacturer, distributor, and/or seller.² You have to prove:

1. The defendant manufactured, distributed, or sold the ladder;
2. The ladder contained a defect when it left the defendant’s possession;
3. You suffered harm; and
4. The ladder defect was a substantial factor in causing your harm.³

Example: Bill went to Wall’s Depot and bought a Cheapco ladder. When Bill was using the ladder, it collapsed due to a defect, causing Bill to suffer a head injury. Since the ladder contained a defect when Bill bought the ladder, both Cheapco and Wall’s Depot may be liable for Bill’s injuries.

Product liability claims are generally based on either:

• Manufacturing defects – defects that occur while the product is being made,
• Design defects – defects in the actual design of the product itself, or
• Warning defects – insufficient information for consumers on the possible hazards of using the product.⁴

Dangerous ladder conditions

Under premises liability laws, property owners or occupiers owe a duty to visitors and customers to keep their property in a safe condition or else warn them of unsafe conditions. Allowing visitors to use an unsafe ladder may violate the owner’s duty of care.⁵

Example: Rick, an apartment building’s property manager, tells Simon, an electrician, to use the roof-access ladder. Simon is climbing the ladder when a rusty rung breaks, causing him to fall and sprain his ankle. Simon can sue Rick and the property owner because they have a duty to keep the roof-access ladder in good repair or else warn people that it was not in good condition. 

2. Damages

When you are injured by falling off a ladder, you may require medical treatment, be unable to work, and suffer painful injuries. A personal injury lawsuit allows you to sue for compensatory damages to cover your:

• Medical bills,
• Emergency room treatment,
• Surgery,
• Physical therapy,
• Ongoing medical treatment,
• Loss of income,
• Lost future earnings,
• Noneconomic damages for loss of a limb or scars,
• Loss of consortium,
• Disfigurement,
• Loss of enjoyment of life,
• Emotional distress, and
• Pain and suffering.

When someone dies in a ladder accident, a wrongful death lawsuit may allow the surviving family members to sue the responsible parties for damages.⁶

Damages in a wrongful death claim can provide for funeral expenses, loss of earnings the deceased would have provided, and other damages suffered by the surviving family members.

3. Causes and injuries

Each year 500,000 people receive treatment for ladder-related injuries according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons.

In 2020, 161 workers died from falling from a ladder. 2020 also saw 22,710 non-fatal work injuries from ladders that resulted in at least one day off from work.⁷

Causes

Common ways ladder injuries happen include:

• Defective ladder collapse,
• Broken ladder steps,
• Unsecured ladder falls,
• Overloaded ladders,
• Ladders placed next to unstable scaffolding or roofs,
• Ladders that were not inspected,
• Metal ladders touching electrical wires,
• Not following ladder safety protocol,
• Inadequate supervision,
• Using the wrong ladder for the job,
• Using the ladder during bad weather,
• Slippery ladder rungs, and
• Ladders set up on uneven surfaces.

Injuries

Not all ladder injuries or deaths are caused by extremely high falls. Even a fall from a stepladder can cause serious injuries if you hit your head or back on the ground. The most common injuries in ladder accidents include:

• Foot fractures,
• Broken legs,
• Broken hips,
• Back and spinal cord injuries,
• Head trauma,
• Facial trauma,
• Damage to internal organs,
• Neck injury,
• Electric shock or electrocution,
• Paralysis,
• Cuts and abrasions,
• Traumatic brain injuries (TBI), or
• Concussions.

If you do fall from a ladder, it is important you seek medical care as soon as possible. Even if you feel fine, you may have sustained an injury that takes time to manifest such as a hairline fracture or internal bleeding.

4. Workers’ comp

When you are injured in the course of your employment, the case may be handled through a workers’ compensation claim. You may still be able to file a personal injury lawsuit if the accident was caused by a third party or was caused by an intentional action to harm you.

A workers’ comp claim generally:

• Is faster than a lawsuit, and
• Does not require you to show the employer was negligent.

However, in a workers’ comp claim, the damages are generally limited to paying for medical expenses and providing a wage replacement when you cannot work.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), fall injuries on the job are a major cause of fatal workplace accidents. Approximately 20% of workplace fall injuries involve a ladder. In the construction industry, more than 80% of fall injuries requiring emergency department treatment involve a ladder.⁸

5. Verdicts and settlements

Some ladder accident lawsuits are settled before they go to a jury. These settlements can reach into the tens of millions of dollars.

Other ladder accident lawsuits go through a trial where the jury renders a verdict and decides how much money the defendant must pay.

Some notable ladder accident verdicts and settlements include:

• $5.26 million: An electrician working on the roof of a construction site fell off a 20-foot roof access ladder, falling 15 feet to the ground. She suffered broken bones and fractured vertebrae. The electrician required surgery, hospitalization, and continuing medical care, and continued to suffer pain and limited range of motion. After a trial, the jury entered a verdict in favor of the electrician for $5.26 million.⁹
• $4.7 million: A tire salesman was using a stepladder to get a tire when the rivets of the ladder failed, causing the salesman to fall, suffering serious injuries. The injury victim filed a lawsuit based on claims of product liability and negligence. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the victim for $4.7 million.
• $11.1 million: A man was using a ladder to clean the gutters on his home. One side of the ladder collapsed and the man fell to the ground, suffering serious head injuries. The man filed a lawsuit against the ladder company based on claims that the ladder was defective. A jury returned a verdict in favor of the victim for $11.1 million.

Additional resources

For more information about ladder safety, see the following:

• Reducing Falls in Construction: Safe Use of Stepladders – OSHA Fact Sheet.
• Portable Ladder Safety – OSHA Quick Card.
• Basic Ladder Safety – American Ladder Institute.
• Ladder Safety DOs and DON’Ts – OSHA Training Institute Education Center.
• 5 Basic Rules for Ladder Safety – Alliance Safety Council.
• Falls from ladders are preventable: Make ladder safety a priority – The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) at the CDC.
• Ladder Safety – Inter­national Association of Certified Home Inspectors.

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