Ladder Accidents and Lighting Maintenance

Ladder Accidents and Lighting Maintenance

Lighting maintenance duties as simple as changing a light bulb or fluorescent lamp are dangerous when working on a ladder is required.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recently published some statistics that illustrate the dangers of ladder accidents.

In the U.S. more than 500,000 people a year are treated for ladder related injuries, and that number does not include people who suffered injuries but did not go to a medical care provider for treatment.
About 300 people in the U.S. die from ladder related injuries annually.
Estimated annual cost of ladder related injuries is $11 billion, including work loss, medical, legal, liability, and pain and suffering expenses.

The AAOS statistics combine work and non-work situations, so they cover more than the direct liability an employer has from ladder accidents. Additional data from the U.S. Department of Labor addresses employer exposure to the costs of ladder accidents.

Among workers who missed work because of occupational ladder accidents, the average case involved being away from work for 11 days.
Almost one-third of those cases involved missing 31 or more days of work.

These figures are staggering and highlight the need for employers to be concerned about ladder accident dangers. Providing workers with proper work conditions, equipment and safety instruction is necessary to minimize these dangers and to assure OSHA compliance.

Outsourcing your lighting maintenance to a company that specializes in that area is another way to minimize your exposure to ladder accident dangers. When you outsource lighting maintenance, you do not have to worry about having your employees on ladders working on lighting equipment. A lighting maintenance contractor such as Energy Management Solutions, Inc. assumes that responsibility for you by using its trained, professional employees to perform those duties.