WGGGF extension or straight ladders

The reports, as CPSC published them

1. Hurt, care not known

   Made Apr 15, 2026 · , sent to the company Apr 28, 2026 · , published by CPSC May 12, 2026

   The product, in the report: WGGGF 26’ aluminum telescoping ladder

   Dear Sirs: The purpose of this letter is to advise the CPSC of a defective consumer product.

   By way of background, I have been retained as an expert witness in a civil litigation matter involving a 26’ telescoping ladder sold on the Amazon.com web site. It appears that Amazon is a re-seller of these products, although this is disputed by Amazon.

   The ladder that is the subject of this litigation is identified as a 26’ aluminum telescoping ladder manufactured and/or distributed in China by WGGGF (a/k/a MCKEK), and was sold on the Amazon web-site. The plaintiff/homeowner purchased the ladder on November 26, 2021, and used it for the first time on September 2, 2022. During the first use the ladder failed catastrophically, causing the homeowner to fall to the ground as he was climbing the ladder. He was standing on the 12th rung, with his head approximately 15’ above the concrete patio at the time of the collapse. The ladder was extended to about 22’, which is approximately 4’ less than the ladder’s maximum extension.

   The plaintiff filed his first Complaint against the defendant (Amazon.com) in California state court on August 16, 2024. Amazon removed the subject 26’ ladder that was sourced from WGGGF from its website sometime after the date of purchase. However, other 26’ aluminum telescoping ladders are still offered for sale on the Amazon web-site. These other ladders, like the subject ladder, are all manufactured in China, and are identified as being manufactured and/or distributed by various amorphic entities on the Amazon web-site (e.g.: [REDACTED], etc.).

   These other 26’ aluminum telescopic ladders are nearly identical in design to the subject ladder, and appear to have come from the same source/manufacturer. These other ladders have the same dimensions and hardware, and are all fabricated of aluminum. Although some of these ladders show evolutionary changes (i.e.: labeling, addition of step braces, and differences in the color and shape of the plastic feet) they appear to be nearly identical vis-a-viz size, function and operation.

   The ladder involved in the incident has labels applied. These labels include a few pictographs, but the written instructions/warnings are only in Chinese characters. One label suggests the ladder complies with EN-131, which is the European standard for ladders. Part 6 of EN-13 1 pertains to telescopic ladders. Ladders sold in the USA will universally have a label indicating compliance with OSHA regulations and a relevant ANSI standard (e.g.: Al4.2 for portable metal ladders). Moreover, ladders sold in the USA will have instructions/warnings in English and/or Spanish. A product bulletin was not included with the subject ladder when delivered to the homeowner.

   ANSI standard Al4.2 and EN-131 (part 6) provide design and test requirements for aluminum telescopic ladders. However, these rules are not identical. In late 2025, the parties to the litigation obtained and independently tested a total of six exemplar 26’ aluminum telescoping ladders. These were manufactured and/or distributed by some of the aforementioned foreign source(s) and offered for sale on the Amazon web-site. The testing was limited to horizontal bend and in-use inclined load tests in accordance with A14.2 and part 6 ofEN-131. Both parties found that none of these exemplar ladders met the requirements of either ANSI A 14.2 or EN-131 standards as they all failed the load testing.

   Included as Attachments 1, 2 and 3 are documents produced during discovery in the underlying litigation. Attachment 4 is a thumb drive containing electronic copies of this letter and the aforementioned attachments.

   Attachments l, 2 and 3, including their respective cover page are identified as:

   1: Is a one page document with photographs showing the 4 exemplar ladders obtained for plaintiff’s expert. Of these, 3 were tested in accordance with both the Al4.2 and EN-131 standards. All 3 ladders failed the relevant test requirements. A 4th ladder (E3 at the lower left comer of the page and sourced from [REDACTED]) has not been tested, but has been preserved for use at the time of trial.

   2: Is an eight page presentation prepared by legal staff documenting research conducted on the Amazon web-site. This presentation provides a time line from 2019 through to January 2026. The left hand column identifies the Amazon supplier’s identification number (ASIN) and the amorphic name of the product’s foreign source/manufacturer. The center part of each page provides a brief synopsis and date of the reviews/comments for each product bearing the same ASIN. The legend at the upper left of each page identifies whether the reviews/comments were publicly available on the Amazon web-site, or were obtained by way of discovery in litigation. Reviews/comments are only available at pages 2 - 6. The presentation also provides the first date one of these 26’ ladders was available on the Amazon web-site, and whether the 26’ product is still available.

   3: Is a 61 page spreadsheet prepared by legal staff ([REDACTED]). The first 3 pages list 75 ladders (i.e.: numbered 101 - 187) with the column headings as noted. The purpose of the first 3 pages is to present a summary of the detailed evaluations presented on pages 4 through 61. Although the “similarity percentages” shown in the fourth column on pages I - 3 vary due to minor differences in marketing or branding on the Amazon web pages, these ladders are all near-identical in their design, materials and dimensions. The detailed evaluation provided on pages 4 - 61 present an analysis of the characteristics of these 75 ladders, and the basis for how the degree of similarity was determined.

   Based on information and belief, Attachment 3 is not a complete list of the “brands” or sellers of these ladders as, over time, seller pages become “unavailable” and continuing to the present day new “brands” and sellers emerge on the Amazon.com web site offering the same ladder design. Stated differently, it is known that there are more sellers and newly emerging sellers of these ladders other than the 75 ladders identified in exhibit 3.

   To date, I am not aware that these 26’ aluminum telescoping ladders have been recalled by the manufacturer, distributor and/or re-seller (Amazon); or that the CPSC has been notified of the hazard to consumers who use these ladders.

   I am available to discuss this submittal at your convenience.

   Respectfully,

   [REDACTED]

   Model

   26’ aluminum telescoping ladder

   Bought from

   Amazon.com LLC, Washington

   Bought

   Nov 26, 2021

   Where

   Unspecified: Unspecified

   Who was involved

   Male

   The reporter’s relation to them

   Unspecified

   As this report names them

   Brand WGGGF, made or sold by Mckek

   How badly, in CPSC’s words

   Injury, Level of care not known

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources