Little Giant recalls 3.66 million ladders after 25 reports of sudden retracting and 19 injuries

About 3,662,000 Little Giant ladders are under recall because the height-adjustment locks can fail and let the ladder collapse under the user. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall, and Little Giant has posted its own notice describing the same hazard.

The CPSC's warning is specific: the ladders "can suddenly retract if the Rapid Locks are not fully engaged, posing a fall hazard to consumers."

What Little Giant has reported

The company has received 25 reports of ladders retracting. Nineteen of those involved injuries.

Three were head injuries. The reports list traumatic brain injury, skull fractures, concussions, vision loss, hearing loss and cognitive impairment among them. The other 16 injury reports involved joint and bone fractures, lacerations and bruising.

Little Giant has also received 39 reports of Rapid Locks not working properly.

Those numbers are small next to 3.66 million units sold. But the failure mode is a fall from a height, and the injuries on the list are serious ones.

Which ladders are covered

The recall covers 11 models: Adjustable Fortress 2.0, Conquest 2.0, Dark Horse 2.0, Epic, King Kombo XT, Leveler, MegaLite, MegaLite+, Multi, Quantum and Vector.

The Rapid Locks are the black or orange components on each ladder leg. The Little Giant brand and model name are printed on the side of the ladder.

Ladders with an orange rectangular "QC" sticker on the rail above one of the Rapid Locks are NOT part of the recall.

The ladders were sold from December 2015 through October 2026. Retailers include Lowe's, Costco and other stores nationwide, plus Amazon, Lowes.com, Costco.com and Little Giant's own website. Prices ran from about $100 to about $1,000.

What owners are told to do

The CPSC says to stop using the ladder immediately. Owners can visit Little Giant's recall page, scan the QR code on the ladder, or call the company at 866-201-9069.

The company will send a repair kit with warning labels and instructions. Those explain how to confirm the Rapid Locks are fully engaged before every use and how to maintain them with lubrication.

If a lock still malfunctions after lubrication, the owner should contact Little Giant for an evaluation. If the lock still fails, the company will offer a replacement ladder of the same or an equivalent model, or a refund.

Refund amounts depend on the purchase date. Ladders bought within the past 12 months qualify for the full purchase price. Older ladders get a depreciated amount.

The fix for most owners is a label, a set of instructions and a lubrication routine. Only ladders whose locks keep failing move on to a replacement or refund. That puts the pre-use lock check in the owner's hands every time the ladder goes up.

Timing

The recall lands as millions of Americans are about to begin putting up Christmas lights and trees, and many will rely on ladders to hang the decorations. Anyone who bought a Little Giant ladder can check the model name and the QC sticker before the next climb.