A man is reportedly in stable condition after falling from a cell tower in Summit Park, West Virginia. Officials with Harrison County EMS say the man suffered a head injury and was airlifted to a local hospital.
This is not the first cell tower related incident the area has seen recently. In February 2014, a firefighter and two contract workers were killed when a tower collapsed in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The families of all three victims filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of Kyle Kirkpatrick, Terry Richard and Michael Garrett said in part “new tower companies were developed often without the knowledge, ability and/or motivation to properly train their crews to do their work competently, carefully and safely.”
The lawsuit also claims the companies involved, S&S Communications Specialists, SBA Communications, and FDH and subsidiaries, were “well aware” of the risks involved in the work on the “older” Despard tower and that SBA “knew or should’ve known” the dangers involved in tower work after the 2013 death of a worker in Mississippi, who also died from injuries suffered while working on a SBA tower.
It is unclear if the most recent incident is tied to any of the companies mentioned in the lawsuit. The name of the injured man has not yet been released.
It has been a deadly last couple months for tower workers. Earlier this month, 21-year-old Pedro Samuel Salazar fell to his death from a water tower in Brownsville, Texas.
Salazar, who was an employee of Orbit Broadband, was transported to a local hospital, but later died from his injuries. Witnesses said Salazar lost his grip and fell about 50 feet after trying to perform routine maintenance on a satellite antenna atop the water tower.
In August, 20-year old Tyler Bresnahan died from a fall from a tower in Exeter, R.I. That incident is still under investigation.
We will keep you updated on the most recent incident when more information becomes available.
