About 3.66 million Little Giant ladders are being recalled because their locks may not fully catch, which can let the ladder suddenly shrink while someone is on it.
Story Highlights
- On Thursday, November 5, Little Giant and federal safety officials announced a recall of about 3,662,000 ladders with Rapid Locks.
- Eleven models are included, sold at Lowe’s, Costco, other stores and online from December 2015 through October 2026.
- There are 25 reports of ladders retracting, with 19 injury reports, including skull fractures and brain injuries.
- Owners should stop using the ladder and contact Little Giant for a repair kit; a replacement or refund is offered if the lock still fails.
- A lock that looks set but is not fully engaged gives no warning; the ladder can drop once weight goes on it.
Federal Recall: What Little Giant Owners Need To Know
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that polices the safety of household products, posted the recall. The problem is in the Rapid Locks. These are the black or orange locks on each ladder leg that slide into the rungs to set the ladder’s height. If a lock is not fully engaged, the ladder can suddenly retract, meaning it slides shorter on its own. A person standing on it can fall.
Recall alert: 3.6M Little Giant ladders recalled https://t.co/saI9h3C9U2
— Boston 25 News (@boston25) November 5, 2026
The recall covers these Little Giant models: Adjustable Fortress 2.0, Conquest 2.0, Dark Horse 2.0, Epic, King Kombo XT, Leveler, MegaLite, MegaLite+, Multi, Quantum and Vector. The brand name and model name are printed on the side of the ladder. Only ladders without an orange, rectangular “QC” sticker on the rail above one of the Rapid Locks are part of the recall. If your ladder has that sticker, it is not included. The ladders sold for about $100 to $1,000 at Lowe’s, Costco and other stores nationwide. They were also sold online at the websites of Lowe’s, Amazon, Costco, Little Giant and others.
What Can Go Wrong, and the Injuries Reported
According to the recall notice, Little Giant has received 25 reports of ladders retracting. Those include 19 reports of injuries. Three of the injury reports involve head injuries, such as traumatic brain injury, skull fracture or concussion, along with vision loss, hearing loss and cognitive impairment, meaning harm to memory and thinking. The other 16 involve injuries such as broken bones or joints, cuts and bruises.
The company has also received 39 more reports of Rapid Locks not working the way they should. A lock that looks set but is not fully engaged gives no warning. The ladder can drop when weight goes on it, which is why officials are telling owners to stop using these ladders until they follow the repair steps.
How To Respond: Practical Steps For Owners
First, stop using the ladder. Next, read the recall information on the Recalls page of the Little Giant website, or scan the QR code on the ladder. Then contact Little Giant for a repair kit. You can call the company toll-free at 866-201-9069, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mountain Time, Monday through Friday. The kit comes with warning labels and instructions to put on the ladder.
The instructions tell owners to check that every Rapid Lock is fully engaged before each use and to keep the locks lubricated, or oiled. If a lock still does not work right after lubrication, contact Little Giant to have it checked. If it still fails, the company will offer a replacement ladder of the same or an equal model, or a refund. The refund amount depends on when the ladder was bought, up to the full price paid. The recall number is 27-067. The ladders were imported by Little Giant Ladder Systems of Springville, Utah, and made in the United States, China, Mexico and Malaysia.