When “Safe Access” Isn’t Safe Enough: A Rooftop Tragedy

Michele Oras
Jul 13
2 min read

We’ve covered a false sense of security behind a locked gate and a rooftop turned campsite. But this story—the third and final in our safety series—is the most sobering. It’s a real case that underscores how rooftop access decisions can have irreversible consequences.

This isn’t about faulty equipment. It’s about assuming access is “safe” without truly verifying it. The cost? A life forever altered.

Gurney with a white sheet is placed outside an open ambulance on a concrete surface, with colorful cables and security tape nearby.

The Case: A Locked Cover, a Fatal Fall

In Peterson v. Wherehouse Entertainment, Inc., HVAC technician Peterson was sent to service rooftop equipment at a retail store. The manager directed him next door to a Staples store, where a storeroom ladder led to a roof hatch. Once on the roof, a Staples employee locked the hatch and told Peterson to exit via the building’s exterior ladder.

But that ladder had a locked security cover that blocked the rungs from 13 feet to five feet above the ground.

Peterson fell trying to descend around the obstruction. He fractured his heel—and while hospitalized, complications spiraled. Within days, Peterson suffered a cardiac arrest that left him in a permanent vegetative state.

The Aftermath: A $20 Million Lesson

Despite meeting technical OSHA access requirements, the system failed in practice:

The exit ladder was obstructed.
Communication between personnel was inadequate.
The worker had no safe way to descend.

Peterson’s family sued both Wherehouse and Staples. A jury awarded nearly $15 million in damages. After allocations and settlements, the net recovery was over $7 million. But no monetary award can reverse the damage.

The Prevention: Why Ladder Receivers Matter

A fixed ladder with a locked security cover is a liability waiting to happen. If a LadderPort receiver had been installed on-site:

The technician would not have been redirected.
There would have been no unauthorized hatch use.
The safe, stable, and controlled access point would have eliminated the fall risk entirely.

Ladder Receivers Provide:

True Access Control – No extension ladder, no access.
Stability and Safety – OSHA-compliant and tamper-resistant.
Design Flexibility – Ideal for specifiers and architects.
Peace of Mind – Eliminates reliance on personnel judgment.

The Takeaway

From an OSHA standpoint, Peterson had “access.” But practical safety failed him. Don’t let a preventable oversight become your building’s legacy.

One call to LadderPort could be the difference between a secure facility and a headline-making tragedy.

Safer. Smarter. More cost-effective—before it’s too late.