A recent study using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”) 2021 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries confirms that one of the deadliest jobs in Illinois, Indiana, and the rest of the country is installing or repairing electrical power lines. Read, “23 Deadliest Jobs in America,” written by Angelo Young and published by 24WallStreet on January 20, 2023. Their findings:
Electrical power-line installers and repairers suffered a fatal work injury rate of 23.7 per 100,000. The most common cause of fatal injury involves exposure to harmful substances or environments.
Power-Line Installation and Repair: Electrical, Telecommunications
Electrical power-line installers have a different job than those in telecommunications. The BLS explains that some power-line installers and repairers work in the telecommunications industry. These professionals are indispensable in serving the needs of cable, internet, and telephone services in Indiana and Illinois. Telecommunications power-line installers and repairers install and maintain lines and cables used by network communications companies.
Other power-line installers and repairers work within the electrical and construction industry, providing services on high-voltage cables and equipment. Electrical power-line installers and repairers install and maintain the power grid.
Electrical power-line installers and repairers typically do the following:
- Install, maintain, or repair the power lines that move electricity
- Identify defective devices, voltage regulators, transformers, and switches
- Inspect and test power lines and auxiliary equipment
- String power lines between poles, towers, and buildings
- Climb poles and transmission towers and use truck-mounted buckets to get to equipment
- Operate power equipment when installing and repairing poles, towers, and lines
- Drive work vehicles to job sites
- Follow safety standards and procedures.
Telecommunications line installers and repairers typically do the following:
- Install, maintain, or repair telecommunications equipment
- Inspect or test lines or cables
- Lay underground cable, including fiber optic lines, directly in trenches
- Pull cables in underground conduit
- Install aerial cables, including over lakes or across rivers
- Operate power equipment when installing and repairing poles, towers, and lines
- Drive work vehicles to job sites
- Set up service for customers.
Line installers and repairers understand they are doing very dangerous work. From the BLS: “Line workers encounter serious hazards on the job, including working with high-voltage electricity, often at great heights.”
See, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Line Installers and Repairers.
The Dangers Facing Power-Line Installers and Repairers Other Than Electricity
There is a reason power-line work is extremely dangerous. Both line installers and repairers will be asked to undertake risks that place them in harm’s way that are distinct from exposure to electricity alone. In a day’s work, they may have to enter a dangerous, confined space to get the job done. They may also be faced with working from a great height after climbing a utility pole or transmission tower or being raised in a bucket truck.
For more on these worksite dangers, read:
- Employer’s Duty to Protect Against Worker Confined Space Accidents in 2022
- The High Risk of a Deadly Confined Space Accident on the Job
- Electricians: Great Danger of Serious or Deadly Work Injuries
- Slip and Fall Accidents in the Workplace: Severe Injury or Death on the Job
- Accidents Involving Electric Shock and Exposure to Electricity.
For power-line installers and repairers, there is the added risk of having to do a job during severe weather emergencies. Often, their expertise will be vital during our winter weather storms where essential electricity and telecommunications repairs are necessary in frigid conditions involving wind, snow, sleet, and ice.
For more, read: Blizzard Dangers to Workers and Employer’s Duty of Care and Dangerous Winter Work Injuries: Severe Injuries or Death While on the Job in Cold Weather.
Employer’s Duty of Care for Power-Line Installers and Repairers
Employers of all line installers and repairers have a tremendous responsibility to make sure these employees are kept safe from harm in an obviously dangerous line of work. Almost every serious or fatal line installer or repairer work injury arguably happens in a preventable accident caused by an employer’s breach of their duty of care.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
Obviously, employees asked to work near electricity should be provided with the proper personal protective equipment before they begin their workday. They should have electrically insulated protective gloves, boots, and other clothing that blocks their bodies from any live current as well as from slipping on wet or icy surfaces, or losing their grip while climbing a utility pole.
For more on PPE, read: Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents and Serious or Deadly Workplace Accidents: Evolving Legal Standards for PPE Work Shoes.
Special Safety Devices and Protocols
Employers should also have at the ready any safety devices that can protect the line installer or repairer from harm, as well as established safety protocols. These devices include gauges to test for toxic gases before allowing the worker to enter a confined space.
Safety protocols should include established procedures on how to respond in the event of injury. Everyone on the worksite where the power-line installer or repairer is on the job should understand the steps to take if there is a power-line accident. For more, read OSHA Publication No. 87-103 (December 1986), Preventing Fatalities of Workers Who Contact Electrical Energy, which provides:
Prompt emergency medical care can be lifesaving for workers who have contacted either low voltage or high voltage electric energy. Immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) within approximately 4 minutes followed by advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) within approximately 8 minutes has been shown to save lives.
For more, read Lockout Tagout Accidents in Indiana and Illinois: Employer Liability.
Justice for Power-Line Installers and Repairers Hurt in a Work Accident
Most power-line accidents involve workers tasked with their installation or repair. Employers in the telecommunications and electrical or construction industries, as well as their insurance carriers, understand in great detail the extent of risk these employees face on the job. There are federal safety regulations; industrial standards; and other requirements, such as following local codes that these companies are legally required to understand and to follow.
Sadly, the negligence or disrespect of the duties of care and safety owed to power line installers and repairers all too often result in their death or serious, catastrophic injury. Working anywhere near electricity, especially from a height or during severe weather, is obviously high-risk and deserving of extreme protections.
Any company or employer involved with requiring the power-line installer or repairer to undertake the work that results in bodily injury or death may have a legal liability for what has occurred. Not only the workers’ compensation laws of Indiana and Illinois but personal injury laws, defective product laws, and premises liability may bring other third parties to answer for the accident involving a power-line installer or repairer.
For more, read:
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents
- The Two Main Differences Between Workers Compensation and Personal Injury Claims for Accident Victims in Indiana and Illinois
- Workers Beware: BLS Reports Highest US Worker Death Rate in 5 Years
- What are Legal Damages After a Work-Related Accident in Indiana or Illinois?
Any power-line installer or repairer hurt in a power-line accident may be able to file a legal claim for damages with one or more parties who have a legal liability to pay for things like medical expenses, lost wages, and wrongful death. Sadly, these workers are known to be involved in one of the most dangerous jobs in the country, and still, there are fatal accidents every year that happen in the face of known legal protections. Please be careful out there!
