[Moderator David@stives]

mine was reported by the building owners i fell on

[Sean Dyer]

In my first year of windows i had a few small incidents but was always ok somehow!

first one the ladder was at a ridiculously steep angle over a porch on tarmac, it just slid away and i slid with it and ended up stood on top of it on ground

then a similar thing again only i ended up clingin to top window sill, and ladder was gone someone had to set ladder up again for me

then a bit more serious  i set a ladder up on one of those bays with the sills going round at different angles, one side dug in the ground more than the other as i raced up(last house of day - rushing) the ladder flew off and headed to ground i jumped and landed on lawn , left a imprint in grass about 6 inches deep lol

then on impressed concrete from top of ladder, it just flew out from underneath i came crashing down onto wooden bench came away with a dead leg

[Gleaming windows]

Broke heel and tibia when I came backwards off a ladder at only about 6'. Landed on my heels, the right one broke and the right tibia split from the bottom up.

That was in my first month of being a window cleaner.

[martinsadie]

In my first year of windows i had a few small incidents but was always ok somehow!

first one the ladder was at a ridiculously steep angle over a porch on tarmac, it just slid away and i slid with it and ended up stood on top of it on ground

then a similar thing again only i ended up clingin to top window sill, and ladder was gone someone had to set ladder up again for me

then a bit more serious  i set a ladder up on one of those bays with the sills going round at different angles, one side dug in the ground more than the other as i raced up(last house of day - rushing) the ladder flew off and headed to ground i jumped and landed on lawn , left a imprint in grass about 6 inches deep lol

then on impressed concrete from top of ladder, it just flew out from underneath i came crashing down onto wooden bench came away with a dead leg

you sound like Clark Kent 

[macmac]

You should get yourselves accredited with "Safe Contractor"

[Moderator David@stives]

safecontractor wont stop you falling, itdidnt stop  me

[mci services]

ive had a couple of ladders slip back on me and luckily they have caught and stopped, ive fell loads of times and always doing bottoms, i guess you dont worry to much when lower down : when i got wfp i fell over more than i ever did with ladders, hoses/plant pots/bricks etc. it was always when moving backwards from window.

i remember years ago i was doing a cradle job and my dad turned up on the roof on the friday with blood pouring from his head. he had been on a job and fell and smacked his head but insisted on coming to the job i was on because he had the wages and when i said i would take him to hospital to get checked out he told me not be stupid you cant operate a cradle with two men and the job had to finished that day

[Londoner]

A bloke I used to work with years ago called John, his son died after falling off a ladder. A local window cleaner to me who had been doing windows for years fell while getting back onto a ladder from a flat roof and has never worked since. He would have died if the son of the people who lived there hadn't come home from school in the middle of the day because he forgot his PE kit.

I've heard from many new customers about different previous window cleaners that have given up after falls. I saw a painter fall off a ladder opposite where I was cleaning about two months ago.

I have never really had a bad fall but I had a ladder blow over with me on it a few years back. What I have had however are numerous pants filling moments when ladders have moved or slipped.

Now I'm WFP all of this is a thing of the past.

[dazmond]

ive fell off twice.last time about 10 yrs ago.both times ladder slipped right down and i landed on my heels from first floor.hurt my back with the shock up my spine!heels ok though.i was back at work the next day.scary though!im a lot more careful now and use trad poles a lot esp in winter.even when i go wfp ill still need to use the ladders sometimes.what about flat roofs over garage if their not in?locked gates?first time cleans if really dirty?oxidised frames?kitchen extensions?gutter clearing?conny roofs?i will always need the ladders even with WFP.

DAZMOND

[JRDEasiReach]

......with all this going on we still have the trad men having a pop at the WFP, im glad i use it and not ladders, if all those accidents were reported im sure they would be banned by now.

[trevor perry]

......with all this going on we still have the trad men having a pop at the WFP, im glad i use it and not ladders, if all those accidents were reported im sure they would be banned by now.

  what a stupid comment, there are hundreds of car crashes and deaths every year but they dont ban cars similarly with ladders it is a good tool if used correctly and if ladders are correctly used then they are as safe as many other access tools.

[SherwoodCleaningSe]

mine was reported by the building owners i fell on

You fell on the owner of the building you was cleaning.  Hope they were ok.

I had a fall in early 2000.  Ladders slipped out at the bottom and I fell about 15 ft needing stitches in the back of my head and about a year before a similar thing happened, that time I got a hairline fracture in my left wrist.

Simon.

[JRDEasiReach]

oh look my dangling carrot was just bit by trevor, dare anyone mention the word 'banned' and 'ladders' in the same sentence

[macmac]

......with all this going on we still have the trad men having a pop at the WFP, im glad i use it and not ladders, if all those accidents were reported im sure they would be banned by now.

Spot the WFP newbie!!!

[Ian Lancaster]

Yes in 2005,

I broke my ankle in 3 places, snapped my shin and broke both of my heels in the process,

I had a year off work and ive still got 5 pins keeping my ankle together,

Happy days.

Join the club, Dean.  In 1978 I was working on a pub and put one hand on a window sill.  The sill collapsed into a load of rubble and I fell 18' onto concrete.  I broke both sub talar (ankle) joints and both os calci (heel bones).  Still have a steel staple in my right ankle and walk like a crab   Took me 18 months and two operations before I could walk again, but still came back to window cleaning.

How does you injury affect you now?

[Ian Lancaster]

......with all this going on we still have the trad men having a pop at the WFP, im glad i use it and not ladders, if all those accidents were reported im sure they would be banned by now.

Notice how many said "the ladder slipped...."  that tells me the ladders weren't set properly in the first place.

I still climb ladders, but every time I do I set the ladder, then look at it and think "Could it slide, and if it did where would it go?"  If the answer is "yes" and "down to the ground" I don't climb it till I've re-set it safely.

[Murdie window cleaning]

Only just been going a few months so never had any scary moments, but my dad had a fall from the top of a ladder about 30yrs ago. He was lucky that he landed on something soft "his head" nasty gash that required stitching and concusion. Maybe with that in mind and the horror stories on here I am extra carefull when pitching my ladders and I hope to be wfp before I start getting complacent.

[cockney rebel]

How does you injury affect you now?

I still have wires in me arm. My arm still hurts but is worse when it is damp or cold.

[dai]

I came off just the once, someone had fitted a tilt and turn window upside down.
As I reached over to detail the top right hand corner, I was holding onto the top of the frame by my finger tips just to keep my balance.
The window had been left off the catch and opened out from the top pushing me off.
One broken metatarsal. I ended up on the lawn, managed to get up and hop over to one of those rustic garden seats made from logs, I plonked myself down on it to clear my head, and the bloody thing snapped in half like a carrot. Just wasn't my day, but hey, the ladder never moved.

I have always used stabilizers with my own design feet, never had a ladder slip yet.

[martinsadie]

oh look my dangling carrot was just bit by trevor, dare anyone mention the word 'banned' and 'ladders' in the same sentence

youve been called a fool by a wfp man so id shut up if i was you