Electrician left with broken ribs after he fell 15 feet from a ladder which ‘snapped in half’
A former electrician has said he is ‘lucky to have survived’ after a faulty ladder he bought off Amazon snapped in half while he was working.
Joffrey Bogemans was up the ladder while fixing a fire alarm at a commercial premises in April 2023 when the telescopic ladder he was using suddenly broke, leading him to fall around 15 feet to the concrete ground.
The incident left him with broken ribs as well as damage to his pelvis, wrist and ankle, and also cut his foot.
He was unable to work for eight weeks and later returned on a gradual basis. But he later had to shut down his business because of the financial and physical toll of his accident, and now works full-tome as a safety campaigner.
According to an investigation by Which?, the ladder is one of dozens potentially deadly versions being sold online on platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Shein and Temu.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
It is now calling on the Government to prioritise product regulation legislation to prevent this from happening again in the future.
Joffrey told Which?: ‘The fall happened in seconds. One moment I was working normally, and the next the ladder had collapsed beneath me and I was on the ground in serious pain.
‘I was lucky to survive, but the injuries were severe and they’ve had a lasting impact on my life. Even today I still live with physical limitations from the accident, and it completely changed the direction of my career.
‘What has been hardest to accept is realising that the same types of ladders are still being sold online. That’s frightening, because it means someone else could be using one right now, believing it’s safe.
‘That’s why I’ve focused my time on advocating for stronger safety monitoring and speaking out about unsafe products. What happened to me shouldn’t happen to anyone else.’
Joffrey said he initially felt confident buying this product on Amazon Marketplace because the seller claimed it met the product safety standards, but despite this, he claims neither the seller nor Amazon have accepted liability for the accident.
He said: ‘The effects of the accident remain ongoing and I continue to experience physical limitations and psychological impact associated with working at height.
‘The incident has significantly affected my livelihood, ultimately leading to the closure of my electrical business. While legal proceedings are progressing, the financial and professional consequences are still being addressed.’
The seller did not have liability insurance, which means that even if Joffrey wins his legal case, there is no guarantee that they have the financial resources to pay out.
The listing has since been removed, but the seller is still active on Amazon and has listings for similar ladders.
When approached for comment, Amazon did not comment on Joffrey’s case, but Which? found that it requires all products listed on Amazon Marketplace to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies.
They added: ‘We proactively monitor our store for safety alerts and product recalls and remove relevant products and contact those who purchased them.’
Joffrey’s case could be symptomatic of more widespread safety issues in online marketplaces.
The Ladder Association bought 14 ladders from third-party sellers on online platforms, including B&Q marketplace, and found that every single one failed safety tests.
86% of the ladders which failed their tests were fraudulently marked or marketed as conforming with the relevant safety standard.
However, all four of the ladders bought from B&Q directly, rather than third-party sellers on its platform, passed the Ladder Association’s tests.
In 2015, a tragic death involving a telescopic ladder prompted the publication of a Prevention of Future Deaths report.
Yet, more than 10 years later, hundreds of dangerous telescopic ladders that appear identical to official safety alerts are still for sale to UK consumers.
Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Protection Policy said: ‘Cases like this reveal the life-altering consequences of dangerous products that Amazon and other online marketplaces can and should prevent from ever reaching consumers. Lives will be at risk until online marketplaces are truly held accountable.’
Sue added that the government needs to prioritise secondary legislation under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to enforce the law against those who break it.
An Amazon spokesperson said: ‘We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies, and we proactively monitor our store for safety alerts and product recalls and remove relevant products and email customers who purchased them.
‘Safety alerts are specific to an individual products’ unique characteristics, including brand name, model number or design features, and our initial findings show that nearly all of the vast majority of products highlighted by Which? ‘s research do not fall under the scope of these alerts.
‘Two of the items flagged by Which? have been removed and we will further refine our controls.’
How the other firms have responded to the investigation
A B&Q spokesperson said: ‘We take the safety of products sold by sellers at B&Q Marketplace very seriously and proactively check to ensure that no products that are the subject of a product recall are offered for sale.’
An eBay spokesperson said: ‘Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay. We have reviewed the listings identified by Which? and have taken action where required, including removing items and notifying buyers where appropriate.
‘We work diligently to prevent and remove unsafe product listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms, AI supported monitoring by in-house specialists, and close partnerships with regulators. These measures prevent millions of potentially unsafe products from being listed each year.’
A Shein spokesperson said: ‘SHEIN has robust measures in place to prevent illegal and unsafe items from being listed on our platform, and we continuously strengthen these safeguards. These controls begin before any seller is permitted to join the SHEIN Marketplace. This process helps to prevent non-compliant listings from reaching consumers. Once listed, products remain subject to ongoing monitoring and post-listing reviews.
‘SHEIN also partners with internationally-recognised product safety and quality testing agencies, including Bureau Veritas, Intertek, SGS, and TÜV SÜD, to support our efforts to keep non-compliant products off our sites. Where a seller is found to be non-compliant or in violation of our requirements, SHEIN takes appropriate enforcement action. In this instance, warnings have been issued to the relevant vendors, and they will be subject to heightened scrutiny going forward.’
A Temu spokesperson said: ‘Temu monitors product recall and safety alerts issued by OPSS and other regulatory authorities to identify and remove unsafe products. Following our review of the products identified, we found that they are not covered by OPSS recalls. The flagged products have different features, specifications, or are from different manufacturers than the recalled items referenced in the alerts.
‘We have integrated OPSS recall information into our seller training program to help third-party sellers stay informed of safety requirements. We stand ready to take down any product suspected of having safety concerns for review.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.