Abstract: An employee was installing an additional telephone service drop to a residence. The drop was located at midspan. He used an 8.5-meter-long, two-piece fiberglass extension ladder to access the midspan connection. The ladder was equipped with hooks at the top and adjustable feet at the bottom. The employee was near the top of the ladder when the existing service drop broke from the added tension of the employee and ladder leaning against the communications cable and its messenger. The ladder moved suddenly, and the employee lost his grip and fell about 5.5 meters to the street. He sustained a fractured left wrist, collapsed left lung, and a shattered left orbital bone. He was hospitalized for his injuries. He had a plate surgically implanted and suffered loss of vision in his left eye.