Working on communication towers can be a dangerous job. New Jersey residents who are in this occupation should be aware of guidelines that have been issued by the Federal Communication Commission and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
While the focus of the guidelines is on cell phone towers, there is concern for television tower safety as well. The guidelines do not contain any new safety regulations and are being provided simply for informative purposes. However, both of the federal agencies have concerns regarding structural collapses, inadequate hoisting and rigging, falls and the risk of being struck by objects. The safety guidelines are the result of a joint workshop that took place in the fall of 2014. There was also a second workshop conducted by the FCC and the Labor Department in February 2016.
With the creation of new wireless infrastructures, the workers on the limited number of available crews are expected to be under a great deal of pressure. Also, with the separate nature of the companies that own the towers and those that build them, there is also an issue of who is responsible for safety. According to a representative of the FCC, the safety of the workers who build and maintain the communication towers is more important than before as an increasing number of people in the United States use their mobile devices to send texts, stream content and make calls.
Communication tower workers encounter hazards that can be fatal if the workers do not practice safety, and over recent years, there have been dozens of fatalities. The family members of those who have been killed in these accidents might be entitled to receive workers’ compensation death benefits under the decedent’s employer’s insurance coverage. They may want to meet with an attorney to see if a separate lawsuit could also be filed if the accident was due to the negligence of a non-employer third party.
