Ladder Safety

As you can imagine, we see injuries from a lot of different incidents. One of the most common things we see are injuries from ladder accidents! We are entering autumn and we are not short on leaves in East Tennessee – leaves that seem to fall from the trees and head right toward our gutters.With that in mind, I wanted to share some ladder safety tips with you. I like to see you in the office for regular adjustments to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but it’s not a pleasure to see you in the office after you’ve fallen from a ladder!

• Wear slip-resistant shoes. Shoes with leather soles should not be worn if you plan to climb a ladder as they are not considered slip resistant.
• Before using the ladder, inspect it to make sure it is in good working condition. Ladders with loose or missing parts are not usable.
• Make sure the ladder you plan to use is the right size for the job. Don’t use a step ladder to clean the gutters.
• When you set the ladder up, make sure it is on firm, level ground. Make sure there are no slippery spots at the base of the ladder or the top support points.
• Only one person at a time should be on the ladder.
• Don’t place the ladder in front of a closed door that someone might open toward the ladder.
• Keep the center of your body between the ladder side rails. Do not lean too far out of line to reach something.