About 98% of Americans own cellphones, and about 91% own a smartphone, according to the most recent survey by the Pew Research Center. As individuals of all ages have become increasingly reliant on cell phones, ensuring cell-phone capabilities remain available and functioning for everyday Americans is no small task and requires specialized technicians to keep the towers operating properly.
Cell tower technicians occupy a relatively small industry, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics listing about 98,360 telecommunications line installers and repairers in May 2024. These workers serve vital roles, tasked with installing, maintaining and repairing cellular communication towers and equipment.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has labeled working on cellular communication towers as exceptionally hazardous. Tower climbers regularly work at heights of 100 to over 1,000 feet in all types of weather, exposing them to severe hazards like falls, structural collapses, equipment failure, electrical shocks and falling objects.
Cell carrier companies that employ these technicians are required to follow strict OSHA regulations when it comes to protecting the health and safety of their workers and respecting workers’ rights. However, cell tower work for large companies such as AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon is increasingly outsourced through independent vendors and subcontractors.
Being a contract worker may affect an injured cell tower technician’s ability to seek workers’ compensation, utilize other employee benefits to aid in the recovery process or receive severance. Given the reliance on subcontractors and small crews spread nationwide, cellular tower technicians face a disproportionately high risk of catastrophic injury or death each workday.
If you or a loved one has been injured on the job while working as a cell tower technician, you may be entitled to compensation from your employer. A cell tower accident lawyer at Florin|Roebig can determine your legal options and help you file a claim for compensation.
Cell Tower Worker Injury and Fatality Statistics
Fatalities spiked in the early 2010s and have since fluctuated. OSHA recorded 13 communication tower-related deaths in 2013 and 12 in 2014. This sudden surge prompted industry and regulatory concern that led to increased safety efforts, resulting in decreased deaths. Deaths dropped to 3 in 2015 and 6 in 2016, per OSHA records. However, because major cell carriers frequently outsource tower work to subcontractors, OSHA may miss recording some incidents.
Each year, tower worker deaths continue to represent a significant share of fatalities, given the small size of this workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) most recent data, telecommunication line installers and repairers’ fatalities have risen in recent years. In its most recent data, the BLS recorded 13 deaths in 2021 and 15 in 2022. It also recorded 13,130 nonfatal injuries that were severe enough to require days off from work, restricted activity or job transfer.
Common Causes of Cell Tower Accidents
Working on cell tower sites poses several potential hazards for workers, not the least of which include performing duties at extreme heights. According to an investigation by ProPublica and PBS, tower climbing has a death rate that is nearly 10 times that of construction workers and much higher compared to the general workforce.
The causes of cell tower accidents can vary. They may be influenced by a variety of environmental conditions, factors related to the nature of the job and employers failing to provide safe working conditions for their employees.
Leading Causes of Accidents
Falls from heights are by far the leading cause of tower worker deaths and injuries. Climbing hundreds of feet up a steel structure inherently carries extreme fall risk. A National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) review of 1990s-era data found that 93 of the 118 deaths associated with telecommunication tower work were due to falls, nearly 80%. Falls remain the top cause today.
OSHA investigations have found that in many cases, workers weren’t properly attached to fall-arrest systems or detached momentarily and lost their grip. Even when using safety harnesses, improper rigging or equipment failure can result in catastrophic falls. Aside from falls, other leading causes of cell tower accidents include:
- Structural collapses: Though rare, failures of towers or supports can be devastating. For example, the collapse of a tall broadcast tower in 2018 killed one worker and injured three others during brace installation for a new antenna. Smaller cell towers or monopoles have also collapsed during modifications.
- Hoisting and rigging accidents: Tower work often uses gin poles, hoists and winches to lift materials. If rigging fails or loads fall, workers aloft or below can be struck. OSHA investigations include cases of falling rigging or equipment causing fatalities, including a 2022 incident in Willow Park, Texas, in which a telecommunication worker was killed by falling rigging and line when the hoisting grip failed. Being struck by a dropped tool, bolt or antenna component is a constant hazard for ground crew and climbers alike.
- Electrical hazards: Tower climbers may be exposed to live power lines, if co-located on poles, or radiofrequency (RF) energy from active antennas. Electrocutions have occurred when equipment or guy wires contact overhead lines. RF exposure can cause shocks or burns. Lightning strikes are another deadly threat when on tall towers.
- Environmental and other factors: High winds can cause workers or suspended loads to lose balance. Ice, rain and cold can make climbs more treacherous. Long climbs and heat stress can lead to fatigue or medical events while aloft.
Other common causes of fatal and non-fatal cell tower accidents include:
- Poorly maintained or inadequate equipment
- Equipment failure
- Lack of safety gear
- Inadequate employee training
- Worker fatigue
- Distraction due to pressure to work quickly
- Neglecting vital safety protocols to save time
Types of Cell Tower Accident Injuries
Cell tower accidents can cause various moderate to severe injuries for workers, depending on the nature of the accident. Falling from a high cell tower, for instance, is likely to result in significant injuries ranging anywhere from broken limbs to traumatic brain injury or death. OSHA has reported a concerning increase in preventable injuries at communication tower worksites over the years.
Types of injuries seen from cell tower accidents include:
- Back and neck injuries
- Broken limbs
- Burn injuries
- Concussions
- Cuts and lacerations
- Electrocution
- Impaired sight or hearing
- Internal injuries
- Paralysis
- Permanent disability
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Wrongful death
Cell tower accidents can be devastating to a worker’s career and their ability to care for themselves and their families. Suffering an injury on the job may put cell tower technicians at risk for lost wages, losing their job and the troubling task of seeking compensation from their employer to compensate for their injuries.
Cell Tower Workers’ Rights
Communication tower employees who are employed with a cell tower carrier or contracting company are protected under OSHA regulations, which require companies to properly train, equip and safeguard their workers from preventable hazards in the workplace.
Under OSHA regulations, cell tower workers have the right to:
- Safe working conditions that don’t pose a serious risk for harm.
- Receive adequate information and training regarding workplace hazards and how to prevent workplace injury.
- Receive information about OSHA standards and workers’ rights.
- Review records of workplace injuries and accidents.
- File a workplace complaint to OSHA if they feel their company is violating OSHA health and safety standards.
- Whistleblower protections (i.e., the right to file a complaint without employer retaliation).
Understanding employee rights is crucial for any worker, but especially for those who work in hazardous positions in the construction and communications industries. Florin|Roebig’s work injury lawyers can explain OSHA standards to injured workers struggling to receive compensation and investigate the health and safety practices of employers to determine liability and identify the workers’ legal options.
Liability for Cell Tower Accidents
Employers and contracting companies in the communications industry may be held liable for injuries and fatalities that occur while their employees are performing their occupational duties. Liability may also hold cell carriers and other vendors who contract tower climbers to repair, upgrade and maintain functional operations at cell towers accountable.
Determining liability in cell tower accidents is often tricky. Liability for cell tower accidents may depend on the type of relationship tower climbers have with the cell carriers. Many cell carriers outsource their work to external vendors and subcontractors, who may outsource their own subcontractors for labor, which muddies the waters.
Whether you’re an employee of the cell carrier or a subcontractor can affect who may be held liable if you’re injured on the job. If you’re a subcontractor injured on a cell tower site, your contracting company may be held liable for accident-related injuries rather than the cell carrier.
Questions to ask to determine liability may include:
- What type of worker am I classified as?
- How did my accident occur?
- Did the accident directly result in injury?
- Did my accident occur while I was on duty?
- Is there any evidence of negligence on behalf of my employer or contracting company that can be linked to the cause of my accident?
Cell Tower Workers’ Compensation and Claims
If you’re an employee of a cell carrier and injured while working on a cell tower, you may be eligible to file a claim for workers’ compensation. Workers’ compensation can cover a range of expenses, from an employee’s medical bills to lost wages and physical therapy costs.
However, these claims aren’t typically enough to cover all the damages injured workers experience as a result of workplace accidents. A fact that may hold additional weight for cell tower employees, who are likely to suffer severe and sometimes permanent injuries from worksite accidents.
Filing for workers’ compensation can also come with another set of problems, in part because these claims are handled by for-profit insurance companies. These insurance companies can often try to reduce the amount of compensation owed to injured workers in a number of backhanded ways.
Examples of how insurance companies attempt to reduce injured workers’ total compensation include:
- Denying coverage for effective medical procedures that are more costly
- Referring you to an incompetent or incompatible doctor
- Denying compensation for physical and mental anguish
- Covering only for expenses accrued since the accident
- Disregarding projected expenses
- Arguing over the extent of your injuries
Investigations into cell tower accidents in recent decades have shown concerning evidence as to how employers and their negligence in properly training, equipping and protecting their employees have been significant factors in cell tower accidents.
Before filing a claim for workers’ compensation, contact an attorney to make sure it’s the best choice for you. In some instances, workers’ compensation may be your only road to financial recovery. In other situations, you may be able to pursue your employer or a negligent third party through the court system.
Compensatory Damages Awarded in Cell Tower Accident Claims
Personal injury claims and lawsuits for cell tower accidents allow injured workers to recover several types of damages associated with their accident and resulting injuries. The primary types of damages recoverable in workplace injury claims are compensatory damages that cover both economic and non-economic losses.
Compensatory damages may include:
- Current and future medical bills
- Physical therapy and other rehabilitative services
- Loss of limbs
- In-home care or domestic services
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Our Featured Case Results
Cell Tower Wrongful Death Claims
Individuals have filed several lawsuits against cell carriers and contracting companies on behalf of loved ones who suffered fatal accidents working as cell tower technicians. Wrongful death claims and lawsuits can secure settlements for surviving family members and spouses to compensate for financial losses as well as the psychological toll of prematurely losing a loved one to unreasonably dangerous workplace conditions.
Types of damages that may be awarded in wrongful death claims include:
- Hospital bills
- Pain and suffering
- Funeral and burial costs
- Loss of consortium or companionship
- Loss of support from the date of the fatal accident
Cell Tower Lawyers Serving the U.S.
At Florin|Roebig, our seasoned team of workplace injury lawyers has extensive experience advocating on behalf of injured workers and surviving loved ones of those who died in cell tower accidents. Our cell tower lawyers have developed crucial relationships with experts from various industries that allow us to conduct thorough investigations of workplace accidents, gather the evidence necessary to prove employer negligence and secure fair compensation for our clients.
Our cell tower lawyers are capable of serving clients across the U.S. out of our offices in Florida, Texas, Minnesota and Colorado. With over 40 years of personal injury experience,
Our list of top-rated cell tower lawyers serving the U.S. includes:
- Wil H. Florin, B.C.S.
- Tommy D. Roebig, B.C.S.
- Shaun M. Cummings
- Neil P. O’Brien, M.B.A.
- Luca G. Esposito
- Chad K. Florin, M.B.A., LL.M.
- John J. Hart
- Parker Y. Florin, LL.M.
- Taylor D. Roebig
- Michael A. Ossi, O.C.
- Lawrence J. Najem, O.C.
- Nollys R. Solarte, O.C.
We Are Nationally Awarded Lawyers
Find Help Filing a Cell Tower Accident Claim Today
Cell tower workers injured on the job are entitled to compensation for accidents that occur as a result of their employer’s negligence. In most cases, workers’ compensation won’t cut it.
The most beneficial option for injured workers to seek compensation for their losses is to file a personal injury claim. While injured workers don’t require a lawyer to file a claim, a lawyer can be a valuable ally to ensure that you’re awarded fair compensation and never paid a penny less than your case is worth.
Our lawyers understand how critical securing this compensation can be for the livelihood of injured cell tower workers and their families, struggling with the repercussions of a serious accident on the job.
At Florin|Roebig, our cell tower lawyers can:
- Investigate your employer and the circumstances surrounding your accident.
- Gather witness testimony.
- Consult legal and occupational experts.
- Negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf.
- Advocate for your rights as a worker.
- Fight for a fair settlement on behalf of you or a loved one.
Our lawyers offer free case evaluations to all prospective clients considering taking legal action against employers whose negligence directly resulted in workplace injury or death.
Don’t wait to begin the process of filing your claim. Call us today to schedule a free consultation with one of our award-winning cell tower lawyers to determine your legal options.
