Safety campaign launched to avoid work injuries

The Ladder Association and The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is highlighting a safety campaign to avoid injuries at work.

Weekend falls from height are the single biggest cause of injury in the workplace. Up to 29,000 people reported an injury at work over the past five years.

The Get a Grip safety campaign features Abbi Taylor, whose father Jason Anker was paralysed after a fall from height when she was aged just three, and who talks openly about how her life with him has been profoundly affected.

Abbi said: ‘It’s hard to talk about how my dad’s fall has impacted our lives, but I felt it was so important to get that message out – there are real-world consequences of your actions when using ladders incorrectly.

‘My dad was lucky, as he got to see me grow up; there are many families out there who have a hole where one of their loved ones should have been, because they had a fall.”

Gail Hounslea at The Ladder Association, said: ‘Everyone involved in this campaign has been overwhelmed by Abbi’s story. There’s always a focus on the impact of an accident on the injured party themselves, but what we often forget is the impact on those connected with them.

‘Behind every person who falls from height is a family, friends and colleagues who will all be affected in some way.’