Ladder and stair accidents and injuries are common in the maritime industry, whether you work aboard a commercial fishing vessel, a cruise ship, a tanker, or any other kind of vessel. These can be hazardous areas, even on land, especially in rough waters and bad weather. If you are injured, you have the right to compensation from your employer and the right to fight for it if denied.
What Are the Dangers of Stairs and Ladders on a Ship?
There are inherent risks in climbing to higher heights, but the risks increase when the ground under the ladder or staircase rests is shaking, rolling, and moving. Accidents with ladders and stairs can occur onshore but are even more common on a moving vessel.
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According to research, ship injuries that occurred because of a worker moving from one place to another, often involving a ladder or steps, accounted for 10% of accidents. These accidents account for over 20% of injuries severe enough to cause permanent disabilities.
No matter how experienced you are with moving around on a ship, just one little accident can lead to an injury that could sideline you for the rest of your life. And in many cases, these falls and injuries were preventable.
Moving around on a ship becomes especially dangerous when the waters are rough. This can cause the ship to move suddenly and lead to an unexpected fall. Bad weather can also increase the odds of a fall. Wind can loosen your grip on a handle, and wet surfaces increase the risk of slipping. When bad weather and rough waters pop up, an accident may genuinely be an accident, but other factors are involved in many cases.
Negligence, in the form of poor maintenance, is the other factor that increases ladder accidents. If ladders and staircases don’t receive regular maintenance and repairs, they can fail when in use and cause a fall.
Common Ship Ladder and Staircase Injuries
Most accidents on steps or ladders aboard ships are slips and falls. If you slip on a staircase or ladder, you could hit the rest of the rungs or stairs, falling to the next level. You may also fall over the side of a ladder or staircase and fall much further.
These kinds of accidents cause:
- Bone fractures
- Bruising
- Cuts
- Head and neck injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Back injuries
- Fatalities
If you are carrying cargo or equipment, this increases the chance that your fall may cause serious injuries.
How to Prevent Maritime Ladder and Stair Accidents
Falls from ladders or steps may be actual accidents in some cases. Even the most experienced seaman working aboard a well-maintained ship, wearing the proper gear, is at risk of falling from a ladder when the water gets rough, bad weather, or both. On the other hand, many stair and ladder accidents result from negligence and could have been prevented.
The International Labor Organization has set several standards for stairs and ladders aboard ships. If these are not met, an employer or ship owner could be considered negligent in an accident. These requirements include:
- Marking stairs with a maximum weight capacity
- Marking ladders for the maximum angle of use
- Maintaining minimum width for stairs and ladders
- Ensuring stairs and ladders are of the appropriate materials to support specific weights
- Maintaining the correct widths of gaps between stairs and rungs and between the top and bottom of stairs and ladders and the floor
Regular inspections are also part of the ladder and step safety guidelines. Employers are responsible for ensuring that steps, rungs, and other parts of this equipment are in good working order and able to take the weight.
Stairs and ladders should also be kept clean and as dry as possible to minimize slipping and tripping, and workers should wear appropriate footwear. Paints and coatings that increase friction are necessary to minimize slipping on steps and ladder fungs.
Examples of Maritime Stair and Ladder Accidents
Many incidents demonstrate just how dangerous traversing levels on a ship can be.
Pilot Ladder Accident
Pilot ladders are used when pilots transfer between ships and pilot boats. Navigating these ladders that hang from the sides of ships is inherently dangerous.
In 2023, a pilot suffered severe injuries when the pilot ladder broke while he was transferring to a cargo ship in Australia. The shipping company and the ship’s master were fined for not following laws requiring these ladders to be maintained in good working order.
Jacob’s ladders are made of wooden rungs held together by rope. While there are good reasons to use these lightweight ladders that are easy to move, their design makes them dangerous to navigate.
Even experienced maritime workers can easily fall from them, especially in bad weather conditions.
Ladder Falls and Drownings
In an incident from 1998, a worker fell from a ladder and drowned. The worker grabbed a ladder rung, which broke off and caused the fall. He was not wearing a personal flotation device.
In another fall from stairs, which occurred in 1999 off the coast of England, plastic sheets covering the stairs and inappropriate footwear were blamed.
The lack of a safe ladder and safety equipment could be considered negligence. All stairways and ladders should be clear of obstacles, and workers should be provided with the proper attire for navigating a ship.
Fatal Walkway Fall
In 2008, a worker aboard a Saudi Arabian container ship stationed in Hong Kong fell from a walkway and died after receiving an electrical shock.
The walkway was found to have no protective railing, which, had it been in place, would have prevented the worker from falling to his death. The walkway connected two cargo holds, and the fall dropped nearly 60 feet.
Fatal Stevedore Fall
Some ladder accidents occur in ports and involve onshore workers. In 2019, a stevedore died after falling from a ladder in a ship’s cargo hold.
The worker had been in the cargo hold for a 12-hour shift when he used several ladders and staircases to exit it. He was climbing while carrying something in one hand. While using just one hand to climb a ladder and without a safety harness, he slipped and fell 20 meters.
What Are Injured Maritime Workers’ Rights?
If you work on a ship and fall from a ladder or staircase, you may have experienced severe injuries. Whether it was a genuine accident or you can prove that someone was negligent, you are entitled to compensation from your employer or employer’s insurer to cover medical costs and any lost income.
You may also be entitled to extra compensation if your future ability to earn a living is compromised or you suffer from mental trauma from the accident.
If you are denied this right, you may need the help of an experienced maritime lawyer to file a claim and fight for the compensation you deserve. This might be especially true if negligence was involved in the accident.
In the unfortunate event that you die in such an accident, your dependents also have rights, and a lawyer can help them get what they are owed in such a tragedy.