Incident date: 2025-08-26
NAICS industry code: 111421

An employee was on the tenth step of a three-legged, 14-foot pruning ladder to prune a holly tree. The front leg of the ladder entered a hole in the ground made by a rodent, causing the ladder to become unstable. The employee fell backward onto the ground, resulting in a fractured T12 vertebra.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Other fall to lower level  6 to 30 feet
code_source: title: Step ladders
code_nature: title: Fractures
code_body: title: Back  thoracic region
severity: moderate