With a Philadelphia, Pa. jury trial scheduled to begin today, May 23, to determine whether AT&T
and other defendants were negligent and contributed to a tower technician falling 50 feet to the
ground and causing him to sustain severe and permanent injuries, the carrier agreed to a $30 million
settlement, the largest recorded payment in the U.S. to an injured wireless infrastructure worker,
according to Wireless Estimator’s tracking of industry lawsuits.
The lawsuit alleged that AT&T knew of preventable hazards at the tower, specifically that there was
no safety climb device and the step brackets were temporary and should not have used for access,
but failed to do anything to remedy or warn of them. It was confirmed that tower technician, Thomas
Jeglum, was using his safety harness and double hooking to the removable climbing facility rungs of
the three-leg concealment tower. A forensic report indicated the bottom rung (the rung closest to the
bottom) was snug, but the second rung above was loose making a visual determination of which rungs
were loose or snug impossible. See www.WirelessEstimator.com on the following link for more on this
story.
