Little Giant recalls 3.6 million ladders after skull fractures, brain injuries

Little Giant is recalling more than 3.6 million ladders after its Rapid Locks failed to lock, sending users tumbling. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall, flagging the ladders as a fall hazard. The Rapid Locks are the pins designed to slot into the rungs to adjust a ladder's height. When they don't fully engage, the ladder retracts under whoever is standing on it.

The injury count is ugly. Little Giant has logged 39 reports of Rapid Locks malfunctioning, including 25 cases where the ladder retracted. Nineteen of those ended in injury. Three people reported head trauma, with the recall listing traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, concussions, vision loss, hearing loss and cognitive impairment. Another 16 reports covered joint and bone fractures, lacerations and bruising.

The recall sweeps in 11 makes of Little Giant ladders and more than 130 models, priced from $100 up to $1,000. Little Giant is shipping supplemental warning labels telling users to eyeball every Rapid Lock before climbing. Repair kits go out to all known users who reported a malfunction, and each kit points to a QR code on the ladder for instructions on operating the locks and keeping them lubricated.

Until the labels land, Little Giant says leave the ladder in the garage. "You should stop using your ladder until you have received and applied the warning labels included in the repair kit according to the enclosed instructions," the company said in its recall statement. The CPSC is also urging owners to lubricate the Rapid Locks and check their ladders regularly.

There's a fix or a refund for anyone whose lock still misbehaves after that check. The CPSC said Little Giant will offer a replacement ladder of the same or an equivalent model, or a refund running from a depreciated value based on the purchase date up to the full price for ladders bought in the past 12 months.