Always carry your phone!!

[TMGT]

I had my phone on me when I fell off a walkboard breaking my dominant wrist and some ribs. Phone screen was broken in the fall so didn't do me any good, it was in the cargo pocket on a pair of work pants.

Luckily the wife was home and I was able to gather myself enough to get into the house which was close by.

Luckily it was only about a 6-7ft fall, better then the 20ft I was at on the gable end.
And yes I had an Otterbox case for it.

 

[tguy]

My son says that you should have to get a permit to own a ladder- and no one over 70 can get a permit. It is't that old age is a factor in accidents, its that healing just takes so much longer!

 

[hslogger]

Our rule. No two story ladder work alone. No single story roof work alone. I've survived myself and belong to my own preservation society.

 

[oosik]

Well - I've learned a couple good things.
1) take my cell phone when I'm out on the property
2) the Cup Phone holder in the Taco Wagon might not be such a good idea
3) I know that any ladder work can be dangerous. I will usually just call my son and the work will await his arrival.

One saving grace out here. Many, many times I will get no signal out here. I have "one touch" - - 911 & medical emergency on my cell phone.

Both will go thru even though the cell phone shows no signal. I know - I've tried both, once.

 

[masscity]

I have a restricted landline that is free, but I can't call outside the county. My main phone is my cellphone which is always in my holster on my belt. Maybe ten year ago I went to see my buddy

about 5 miles from here. He and his wife were gone, but there was a guy on his roof. Just when I got out of my truck his ladder slid off of the gutter. I put his ladder back up and I asked if he had

his cellphone, he said no. Guy was doing some repairs of some sort. Who knows when my buddy would have come back.

 

[oosik]

Up on the roof during a mild wind storm. Checking/sealing the trim around the stove pipe. Heard an almighty crash. So did the wife - inside the house. It took a super human effort on her part to get the ladder back up. I have a very, very heavy folding ladder - Little Giant.

After that situation. Always have a rope from the upper step - clear across the roof - tied off to something solid on the opposite side.

In retrospect - if she couldn't reset the ladder. A long rope attached to the top rung and something to function as a throwing weight. She could have thrown the weight and got the rope up to me. It would have then been just time and patience for me to reset the ladder.

I don't trust ladders that much. They don't seem to like me. My experience with ladders is minimal - I want to keep it that way.

If there were nobody around to yell for - a cell phone call to my son would have brought help in an hour or so. I didn't have my cell phone with me - fortunately, the wife was in the house.

 

[Oaktree]

Our rule. No two story ladder work alone. No single story roof work alone. I've survived myself and belong to my own preservation society.

I don't trust ladders that much. They don't seem to like me. My experience with ladders is minimal - I want to keep it that way.

I haven't had any ladder-related accidents (yet) and intend to keep it that way. These days there are limits on how high I'll go on one.
Lots of semi-dangerous things I wouldn't have thought twice about doing by myself 20 years ago can wait 'til there's someone else around now that I'm 70.

 

[TMGT]

I use one of these pretty much every time I use a ladder thats supported by a building.

Ladder-Max "Original" Ladder Standoff Stabilizer - Ladder-Max LLC

Way more stable and the odds of ladder falling down is almost non existent.
Downside is it adds a little weight at the top of the ladder then trying to set it.

I originally bought it so save my new gutters from damage but found it makes the ladder feel much safer.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Those of us who live outside cell phone area learn to be careful while we work. A few years back a neighbor was unbolting the brush guard off of a D8. It tipped forward and crushed him to death against the blade.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Neighbor has a bad ticker, couple of operations. He hugs his phone real tight when he's out on a tractor hogging or bailing.

No buddies to be able to sit and watch while I tinker with stuff. I had it fairly close, maybe 15' away when I fell and cut my hand, but if I had been hurt worse and wasn't able to move, that 15' might as well have been a mile. I've been on ladders, scaffolds and the roof a few times since ... with no phone in my pocket.

A few days ago I read the post about keeping your phone. I tend to do that anyway, I'm building a house and constantly waiting for the subs to not return calls.

2 days ago I fell off a ladder. I've got 10 ft walls and I was way up there with osb and all the sudden, boom!

All I felt was my melon getting smacked on the concrete, seeing stars and my ribs aching. I thought it was 911 time for sure.

I was very lucky, my buddy was there, first visit in months. Took a few minutes but alls well.

First thought I had was, OUCH! Second thought was, i'm glad i got my phone.

I try to keep it on me but, thx for the reminder.

Why is it they call ladders widow makers?