This is not the first case of it's kind:
From the link given by Tumble:
Anthony Gower-Smith, 73, fell off the 6ft stepladder at Awbridge Primary School in Romsey in 2004.
In court, he claimed his employer had not shown him how to use the ladder. The council denied negligence.
But on Friday, Mr Gower-Smith, from North Baddesley, won his case on the basis the council was 75% to blame. His compensation will now be assessed.
Mr Gower-Smith, who had made a claim for £50,000, suffered a fractured skull, fractured cheek bone and kidney injuries in the fall, leading to treatment in intensive care.
When I was in the army, a Royal Signals soldier who'd been climbing ladders for 15 years fell and sued the army for a horrendous amount of money; he won because he'd never been formally trained in how to do it.
It's mandatory in the army to get an ANNUAL lesson in how to lift heavy objects; it's part of the ATDs (Annual Training Directives) that each soldier must attened or pass each year; along with the Law of Armed Conflict (but no-one told me it was illegal to rape and kill women, Sarge!), weapon handling, shooting, fitness test, NBC tests, and how to lift heavy objects test!???
Madness!
Saying all that, step-ladders are probably the dodgiest ladder there is, and you need to be carefull how you use them; more so than with other ladders.