Falls are the top killer in Washington construction. A gutter ladder in late October is where homeowners take the same risk.

Tacoma, Wash. — Oct. 28, 2026. “Falls continue to be the leading cause of death of construction workers in Washington and across the country.” That’s the first line of an Oct. 21 news release from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, announcing a fine against a Yakima County roofing company after a roofer fell more than 25 feet through an unguarded skylight to the concrete floor of a fruit packing warehouse.

L&I said that over the past four months it has fined five construction companies a total of more than $440,000 for violating fall protection rules. One of the citations included unsafe ladder use.

What L&I found

Professionals get fined for skipping fall protection

L&I’s release is blunt. “A worker died because their employer failed to protect them,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. The agency says falls are preventable “with the proper use of harnesses, fall arrest systems, and correctly installed anchors,” yet many companies still send employees onto roofs above four feet “without the required and effective safety gear.”

L&I’s running list of 2026 workplace deaths in Washington shows what those falls look like. It includes:

None of those are unusual heights. They’re in the range of the gutter line on a two-story house.

The angle most coverage missed

The homeowner on a ladder has none of the rules

L&I’s enforcement covers employers. It doesn’t reach the homeowner who borrows an extension ladder on a Saturday. That person has no harness, no anchor, no fall protection plan, often no one holding the ladder, and usually picks the first dry-ish weekend after the leaves fall.

The numbers from trained workers are sobering on their own. A CDC study of work-related ladder falls in 2011 counted 113 deaths and an estimated 34,000 emergency room visits nationwide. Fourteen percent of the ER-treated ladder injuries led to a hospital admission, almost three times the 5% rate for all ER-treated work injuries in the same survey.

This week adds weather to the risk. KIRO Newsradio’s Ted Buehner forecast a colder midweek system with snow levels dropping as low as 3,500 feet, and said cooler spots like the South Sound will likely drop near or below freezing on clearer nights, with frost quite possible. Wet leaves on a lawn and frost on aluminum rungs are a bad base for a ladder.

If you’re doing it yourself

A ladder checklist for gutter day

1. 01

   Wait for dry and above freezing

   Late morning to midafternoon on a dry day, after any frost has burned off.

2. 02

   Set the base on firm ground

   Not on wet leaves, soft lawn or a sloped bed. Use a ladder standoff so it doesn’t rest on the gutter.

3. 03

   Keep three points of contact

   Move the ladder instead of reaching. Carry a bucket on a hook, not in your hand.

4. 04

   Know when to stop

   Second story, steep pitch, mossy roof or a fall onto concrete: hand it off.

When you hire, hire carefully. Washington requires construction contractors to be registered, and L&I’s Verify a Contractor tool shows a company’s registration, bond and insurance and any violations. A proper gutter cleaning clears every run by hand and runs each downspout until it drains. If the gutter itself is pulling away, ask about gutter repair on the same visit.

Skip the ladder: see an instant gutter cleaning price range, send us photos, book online or call (425) 828-3000. Also read what the first fall rain showed about your gutters.