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I am constantly telling my family I don’t have the time to visit the Emergency Room, and there is no time of the year I mean this more then the holiday season. Really, the last thing any of us want to be doing during this time of the year is sitting and waiting to be seen at the hospital for an avoidable accident. Your health care insurance would rather not pay a claim for a preventable injury it just makes a lot of extra paperwork, stress and costs for everyone involved.
An estimated 164,000 people end up in the emergency room every year for ladder-related injuries, many of which happen during the holidays. A fall from a ladders or rooftop may cause bruises, sprains, broken bones, severe head and internal injuries, and sometimes even death.
This is the time of the year many will be climbing a ladder to hang their holiday lights, or reach for the boxes in the rafters, dishes on the very top shelves, and to place the star or angel on the highest bow of the Christmas tree. Getting ready for the holidays seems to include a great deal of climbing.
If you want to have a safe and medical claim free holiday remember to keep safety in mind during the hussel:
- Outside be sure to use wooden or fiberglass ladders when near power lines and electrical wiring or when the ground it wet. Metal ladders conduct electricity.
- Always use the right height ladder, be sure your ladder extends at least 3-feet over the roofline or working surface.
- Place your ladder on firm and level surface.
- Avoid setting your ladder on soft, muddy or wet ground.
- Do Not exceed the ladder’s weight limit or maximum load rating.
- Don’t stand on the ladder’s bucket shelf. Read and follow the warning stickers for highest standing levels most ladders will have this marked.
- It is a one man job, only one person on the ladder at a time.
- Don’t carry any equipment, tools, lights or decorations while climbing. Use tool belt or have someone else hand the equipment to you.
- Face the ladder when climbing up or down, keeping your body centered between the side rails.
- Never climb a ladder when you are home alone. If you fall no one will be there to help you.
- Be careful climbing ladders near windows because going through one will be more then just an injury from a fall, it may include cuts from broken glass as well.
- Keep ladders put away when not in use, ladders left standing are very interesting to young children.
Related Blogs:
- How To Have a Claim Free Holiday Season
- Decorating Your Home For The Holidays—Tips On How NOT To Become a Statistic
- Individual Disability Insurance
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