An average of 136,118 nonfatal injuries associated with falls from ladders are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year. In 2006, there 132 deaths related to a ladder.

I personally know people injured from ladder falls. Through work, I know of one employee death at home.

We're endowed with a valuable skill here. It also speaks to our safety record. CLIMB ON!

data source:
http://www.fallsafety.com/pdfs/HumanFactorsHandholds.pdf

I can name 5 people that I know that have been seriously injured on ladders including a fellow professor at school that died as a result of a ladder accident.

Another, quite ironic ladder accident, occured to a friend and colleague of mine, it goes like this:

My friend asked me if I would teach him to climb trees. Of course I was more than happy to. So he and his wife and my wife and I met at the Ooltewah Captain D's for supper the Friday night of Labor Day weekend.

We went to my house and climbed and he had a ball. I pleaded with him to come back Saturday to learn the knots etc. He declined saying he had to work on his deck. He got up on a ladder, it slipped, he fell and destroyed his right shoulder. It was a year before he started regaining use of it.

Two friends destroyed their ankles in ladder accidents.

You know how you feel if you're driving without your seatbelt on. When I'm at the top of my 24' extension ladder I feel I need to clip in somewhere.