The Academy of Emergency Medicine reports a study showing that half of those injured in falls from ladders were hurt at home.
They were working on projects such as painting or cleaning gutters and doing minor roof repairs.
Broken bones were the most common injury, followed by sprains, bruises and cuts.
Almost half of those injured said they fell because the ladder wasn't positioned correctly. It was on uneven or slippery ground, it wasn't securely resting against the house, or it was too upright.
Reaching too far accounted for a third of the falls, followed by slipping down the rungs.
The Academy recommends:
* Make sure the ladder is on level ground.
* Place it an appropriate distance from the house.
* Have someone hold the ladder while you are climbing up or down.
* Don't reach too far to the left or right.
* Always stay away from power lines.