[LWC]

Fell off twice in my trad years, first one really hurt, leant too far over a porch and it was mossy, slipt straight down with ladder and my foot went thru rungs and underneath with my weight on it...how i didnt break my foot ill never know but i still have trouble with it now. That was about 8 years ago. Then about 6 years ago i only put my foot on another porch to reach...again probably more than i shouldve been leaning and over i went splat on the floor, good job it was on the grass. I was ok, got up and carried on, was just winded and in shock lol...the next day i went WFP  

Yeh all user error faults, but when your out to do a row of houses sometimes those odd little stretches save you some time..and then others really dont as i found out! Thank goodness for WFP is all i can say, not having to shift and jig the ladder about is so nice. And not having to go up and down up and down just for a couple of windows, with the pole its just one window, to the next, to the next.

When customers say they dont like the pole, i tell them well ive fallen off twice and for the rough £1 a window i charge its not risking my health or life for...it seems to his home to them then.

[VSP Home Care]

I managed to lift myself about two foot off the ladder and then straight down from about 8' up using a drill once, seriously stupid as I'd already snagged twice on something before it decided to teach me a lesson 

I was more concerned that someone might have seen me being a total dick than any pain    Luckily I didn't hurt myself apart from double twisted wrists 

As a child I fell from most things at some point and have a few scars to prove it.  Followed my old man up a ladder when I was about 6 and stuck a leg through it, flipped upside down and landed face first on a barbed wire fence 

Loads of blood and a trip to hospital after my old man stuck me in the back of his Volvo and drove me to the nearest farm so the farmer could have a look and laugh   

[H S and Son]

Two weeks after starting shining I tried to bounce the ladder I was using across a sill whilst I was still up it. Needless to say the ladder slipped rather rapidly from underneath me, I came off, broke my heel and split my tibia up the middle.

Was off work for 6 weeks.

[LWC]

Mind you, i dont think your a proper window cleaner until youve fallen off.

[H S and Son]

You have to have fallen off, injured yourself and gone back to window-cleaning afterwards to be a proper window-cleaner.

[Sean Dyer]

Had a few nasty falls, but always been ok?

Been lucky i suppose, always  fell on grass or had the ladder hit something solid stopping me hitting the ground, had a bench break my fall once too

So i am much more careful now, always have any tricky moves footed, and use wfp where i can, once i get  a van will be 90 % wfp as dont feel safe on ladders the more i use wfp and the older i get the more i worry about it and so the more conscious and less confident i get!

[LWC]

You have to have fallen off, injured yourself and gone back to window-cleaning afterwards to be a proper window-cleaner.

Here here lol

[cozy]

In my first year I had the ladder set at a stupid angle for a 1st floor window, it was on
 grass and the bottom slipped away and I went streight down. My right heel hit the rung so hard when it impacted, that it left a big dent in the rung. Couldn't walk for a few days but nothing broken luckily.

You learn by these things or you die or land in a wheelchair. Going WFP soon.

[CLEANCARE WC]

yep 2002 breaking every rule there is too steep angle,no one footing me,no ladder mitts on plastic fascia, standing on top rung,overstretching. needless to say the ladder came out from underneath me and i went straight down luckily landed on the ladder which at least had a bit of give, ambulance came went to hospital fractured T12 vertibrae and a chest brace for 6 weeks and damaged my coxix. oh and they didnt give me any pain relief and me being so hard didnt want to ask. a few days later notice massive black bruising to my arse cheeks and top of legs where i had hit the rungs, didnt notice the pain at the time cos my back was worse. no accidents since though.

[weetot]

1986 right tibia and fibia plus 2 left small toes, fell first floor height.
That gravity's a swine.

[dazmond]

ive fell off twice!both times the ladder slid down the wall and i landed on my heels!! : :


once on imprinted concrete and the other on mossy flags!should of known better!!

luckily only sprained ankle first time.second time hurt my back with the shock up my spine from landing on heels.

i must have heels made of steel!!!

both times i was back working within a few days.very lucky by all accounts.

also had a few times where the ladder has slipped an inch or so!heart in the mouth time when your sliding down the wall!

thank god wfp was invented!!

[edward1]

 Broke talus in right foot and left myself with a disabled foot .

was told at the time that i had a 70% chance of having a fixed foot.no movement in it at all .which usually results in an amputation.

however ,i did recover and surprized the surgeon.i now run marathons and sso far have been ok .im ok on ladders at house height but above that and im not relaxed .but of coarse im a poler now.

Luckily my wife had an insurance policy on me which paid out a small weekly amount .and i also got compo for the injury.
the policy was only 10 puond a month through the aa which i still have.

so ladders r dangerous .be carefull guys

[steven ainger]

i feel off my step ladder, does that count
 it was a  3 step, step ladder,  i was cleaning a window and one of the legs sank into the ground and snapped and i went flying into the flow pots, wasnt hurt but must of looked a tad silly 

[DaveG]

Fell off a ladder while over reaching (trying to do a bay window in 2 climbs) fractured my skull 

[Johnny B]

I have had several falls, all of which I walked away from unhurt. I must be made of rubber.

The funniest one was where I wasn't actually on the ladder. I was standing on a flat concrete ledge above the front door. I cleaned the window, stood back to .............




.......AAAAAAArrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh....





............... admire my handiwork and landed on my backside, on concrete. Fortunately I wear a builder's tool belt which was well padded, and cushioned the impact. I walked away without so much as a bruise. 

John

[andy1975]

had few falls nothing serious,but its amazing how badly my leg bruised

[Paul Coleman]

Yes I have fallen.  I landed on my back once.  Fortunately I was only a few rungs up and it was a soft landing.  I've had a ladder slide out from underneath me as well.  Got very lucky that day.
All of it was operator error.

[TomCrowther]

gulity. Jan 2010 went up over flat roof no problem, coming back I put my left foot on the top rung, swung round to grab the top of the ladder and suddenly it wasn't there. I hit my shoulder on the edge of the roof on the way down, fell about 10 ft with my left leg through the rungs of the ladder and hit the concrete like a sack of you know what.
Shoulder was murder, thought it was broken but just badly bruised and the same with my lower left leg. Massive bumps/bruises but no breaks. Strong bones due to weights and footy I reckon. I was rushing due to the bad weather the week before. Never again and I dropped that customer last year too. can live without his £12.

[Ian W]

I wasn't window cleaning, but fell off a ladder that was put up by my boss at the time. The daft git had put it against some asbestos guttering and when I climbed it with some ironwork I was putting up the guttering broke and I came crashing down from about 8 feet up with the balustrade quickly following down onto my head. I should have gone for compo really, but I was only 18 and didn't want to lose my job.

[Dave66]

fell just once, only about 10ft..damm wind  

no more ladders anymore thank god for the pole  

cant believe everyone does'nt use it