There’s a public service announcement currently running in the local radio market that addresses the concerns of ladder safety and it may ring truer than ever at the moment thanks to a recall of some 78,000 ladders by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The recall involves thousands of telescoping aluminum ladders sold at Lowe’s and Home Depot all across the nation due to an identified risk that they could break while being used by consumers, contractors and others.
According to the announcement from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are five different models of a “Multi-Purpose Telescoping Aluminum Ladder” which were sold nationwide at Lowe’s and Home Depot between April and May of this year.
The federal agency says the hazard entails the possibility that “The ladders can break while in use, posing a fall hazard to the user.” The recall involves five models of the aluminum telescoping ladders that be used in five different positions including as a twin step ladder, a stairway step ladder, an extension ladder, a wall ladder, and as a pair of scaffold bases.
The safety unit says, “Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled ladders and return the ladder to the store of purchase to receive a full refund.” The firm has received one report of a ladder breaking while in use, resulting in one injury to the left side and elbow of the consumer impacted by the failure.
Price ranges for the ladders ran from $180 to $275 each, and each of the ladders was sold by Werner Company of Greenville, Pennsylvania and were manufactured in China.
There are five separate ladder models involved in the recall, and each has a date code stamped “on the inside of the outer leg of the ladder, beneath the bottom step.” Additionally, the model number is printed on a label located on the side of the ladder rail. Each of the recalled ladder models has a load capacity of 375-pounds.
These are the model numbers, date codes and the ladder sizes impacted by the recall:
- MT-IAA-13A — 121744XX or 011844XX — 13 feet
- MT-IAA-17A — 121744XX or 011844XX — 17 feet
- MT-IAA-22A — 121744XX or 011844XX — 22 feet
- MT-IAA-26 — 121744XX or 011844XX — 26 feet
- MT-IAA-26A — 121744XX or 011844XX — 26 feet
The phone number for Werner is 888-523-3370 and is accessible from 8am until 6pm ET Monday through Friday, or you can e-mail the company at customercare@wernerladder.com or online at www.wernerco.com.
