Safety · Updated Oct 14, 2026
2026 Line Worker Injury & Fatality Tracker
13line workers killed
11seriously injured
2026 so far: 13 line workers killed, 11 seriously injured (US, Jan 1 to Oct 14, 2026).
Cable & telecom: 4 killed, 0 seriously injured (cable, broadband and fiber linemen and techs, and telecom tower crews, on the job; counted separately from the electric line worker totals above)
Read this first: These counts only include publicly reported incidents we could verify with a working source. The real number is higher. Many injuries never make the news, and OSHA case files take months to post.
A note from Alan Cristoffer, Lead Lineman
Every name behind these numbers had a crew and a family waiting on them to come home. In my 20+ years, the crews and departments I've worked with and led have had zero on-site incidents, and that's not luck. It's the basics, every time: test before you touch it, ground it where you can see it, and brief the job so everybody knows the plan and the hazards. I believe every one of these incidents was preventable. Slow down, do the basics, and go home.
Every incident we could verify
| Date | Location | Employer / utility | Category | Role | Outcome | What was reported | Source | Help the family |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | Escambia County, FL | Contractor (Hurricane Isaias restoration) | Electric | Contract lineman | Injured | Seriously injured when a transformer blew while he was restoring power. Airlifted to the USA Health burn center in Mobile. | northescambia.com | None verified |
| Oct 12, 2026 | Central, LA | Entergy | Electric | Utility workers | Injured (2) | A home's main breaker box exploded while an Entergy crew was working on it. Two workers were hospitalized with moderate injuries. | unfilteredwithkiran.com | None verified |
| Oct 7, 2026 | Alhambra, CA | All Power Systems (contractor at an SCE facility) | Electric | Contract electrical worker | Killed | Reportedly suffered an electrical injury at an Edison facility and died at the hospital. Cal/OSHA was briefed. | ohsonline.com | None verified |
| Sep 30, 2026 | Hermosa Beach, CA | City Light & Power (SCE contractor) | Electric | Contract lineman | Killed | Found unconscious on the ground below a power pole during a pole-upgrade job and pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner is investigating. | abc7.com | None verified |
| Sep 25, 2026 | Curry County (near Clovis), NM | Farmers' Electric Cooperative | Electric | Lineman | Killed | Restoring storm damage while standing in several feet of water when a leaning utility pole fell into the water and he contacted electricity. He died at the hospital. | abc7amarillo.com | Help the family (GoFundMe) |
| Sep 11, 2026 | Mayville, NY | Subcontractor for the Village of Mayville | Electric | Lineman (substation) | Killed | Suffered catastrophic injuries during electrical repair work at the village substation during a scheduled outage. He died Sept. 15. | post-journal.com | None verified |
| Aug 13, 2026 | Henderson, MI | Consumers Energy | Electric | Lineman | Killed | Electrocuted while performing overhead electrical work, according to MIOSHA. | wilx.com | None verified |
| Aug 11, 2026 | Houston area, TX (CenterPoint system) | Power Contracting LLC | Electric | Contract lineman | Killed | Fatally shocked while setting new poles on CenterPoint Energy's system, according to records cited in a lawsuit filed by his family. | houstonchronicle.com | None verified |
| Aug 6, 2026 | Ozark Acres, Sharp County, AR | North Arkansas Electric Cooperative | Electric | Right-of-way employee | Killed | Injured on the job and airlifted to a Little Rock hospital; he died Aug. 25. | ktlo.com | None verified |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Cascade, MT | NorthWestern Energy | Electric | Lineman | Injured | Struck by 72,000 volts while tying in new wire. Severe burns; flown to a Salt Lake City burn unit. | ktvq.com | None verified |
| Jul 27, 2026 | Whitewater, WI | Davey Tree (subcontracted by We Energies) | Electric | Utility line-clearance tree worker | Killed | Found unresponsive about 60 feet up a tree while on a utility tree-clearing crew. The fire department reported he was fatally struck by lightning. | wtmj.com | None verified |
| Jul 24, 2026 | Port Sheldon Township (Ottawa County), MI | Spectrum | Cable & telecom | Cable lineman | Killed | Found in the extended bucket of a Spectrum boom truck while working on lines. An autopsy found he died of accidental electrocution. | whtc.com | None verified |
| Jul 15, 2026 | Castle Danger (Lake County), MN | 5GT Towers (subcontractor via MasTec for AT&T) | Cable & telecom | Tower foreman | Killed | Struck by a cable while working on a cell tower; pronounced dead at a Duluth hospital. OSHA is investigating. | wdio.com | None verified |
| Jul 12, 2026 | Kansas City, KS | Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) | Electric | Lineworker | Killed | Died while working on power lines near South 74th Street. BPU had not released a cause of death. | kctv5.com | None verified |
| Jun 12, 2026 | Decatur, IL | Ameren | Electric | Lineman | Injured | Electrocuted while restoring power; firefighters found him on a utility pole. Taken to a hospital in critical condition. | illinoisstatenews.com | None verified |
| May 27, 2026 | Wharton County, TX | Frontline Power Construction | Electric | Power line worker | Killed | Pinned between a falling piece of heavy machinery and a pickup truck bed while repairing a damaged power pole. Pronounced dead at the scene. | whartonpost.com | None verified |
| Apr 22, 2026 | Waco area (Cotton Belt Pkwy), TX | Brazos Electric Cooperative | Electric | Lineman (substation) | Injured | Shocked twice while working at a substation. Spent 29 days in the Parkland burn unit with burns on roughly 40 percent of his body. | kwtx.com | None verified |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Fort Worth, TX | Not reported | Electric | Apprentice lineman | Killed | Working on power lines from a bucket truck when an electrical arc flash occurred. Taken to a hospital in critical condition and did not survive. | kcbd.com | Help the family (GoFundMe) |
| Apr 10, 2026 | Fort Worth, TX | Not reported | Electric | Lineman (co-worker) | Injured | Co-worker in the same arc-flash incident; taken to a hospital in critical condition. | kcbd.com | None verified |
| Mar 24, 2026 | Corpus Christi, TX | AEP Texas | Electric | Utility worker (underground) | Killed | Died while working in an underground manhole downtown. The medical examiner's cause of death was pending. | kristv.com | None verified |
| Mar 3, 2026 | Holmes Mill (Harlan County), KY | Apex Contracting (fiber install for HCTV) | Cable & telecom | Fiber installer / lineman | Killed | Electrocuted while installing fiber-optic cable from a bucket truck; he came into contact with an active power line and was pronounced dead at the scene. | harlanenterprise.net | None verified |
| Feb 7, 2026 | Adamsville (Hardin County), TN | Spectrum | Cable & telecom | Cable/communications worker | Killed | Found dead next to his work van while restoring service lines damaged by the Jan. 25 ice storm. The sheriff said it was unclear how he died; an autopsy was ordered. | actionnews5.com | None verified |
| Jan 27, 2026 | near Chelan, WA | Contractor on a Chelan PUD project | Electric | Contract lineworker | Killed | The electrical pole he was working atop snapped and he fell about 23 feet. He was pronounced dead at Lake Chelan Health. | kpq.com | None verified |
| Jan 25, 2026 | Jonesboro, LA | Entergy | Electric | Lineman | Injured | Severely burned from his shoulders to his hands while restoring power after the January ice storm; hospitalized. | wapt.com | Help the family (GoFundMe) |
| Jan 2026Late January (ice storm restoration); exact date not reported | Tishomingo County, MS | Tishomingo County Electric Power Association | Electric | Lineman | Injured | Electrocuted while restoring power after the ice storm. Airlifted to a Birmingham hospital; his left arm and later his remaining hand were amputated. | alcornnewsms.com | Help the family (GoFundMe) |
| Jan 2026Week of Jan 26 (one incident Monday, one Thursday); source does not say which | Alcorn County, MS | Florida-based agency (mutual aid) | Electric | Lineman | Injured | Injured during ice storm power restoration; one of two separate incidents that week that caused a broken arm and a broken leg. Expected to recover. | wlbt.com | None verified |
| Jan 2026Week of Jan 26 (one incident Monday, one Thursday); source does not say which | Alcorn County, MS | Alcorn County Electric Power Association | Electric | Utility worker (not a lineman, per the co-op) | Injured | Injured during ice storm power restoration; one of two separate incidents that week that caused a broken arm and a broken leg. Expected to recover. | wlbt.com | None verified |