A 28-year-old Texas City lineman died on August 11 after coming into contact with an energized power line he had been told was safely de-energized, according to a lawsuit his family has filed against CenterPoint Energy and the contracting firm that employed him. Ryne Cooper was operating a switch while setting new poles on CenterPoint's electric system when he was fatally shocked, the lawsuit alleges. Three other crew members were injured trying to pull him away from the line.
The lawsuit, filed by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee on behalf of Cooper's family, was first reported by the Houston Chronicle. It names both CenterPoint Energy and Power Contracting LLC, the firm that employed Cooper's crew, as defendants, and accuses both companies of negligence and gross negligence. Per the lawsuit, Cooper's crew was told the power lines were de-energized, but they were working on lines that were actually live.
According to the same account, CenterPoint is accused of failing to confirm that lines were safe before the crew began work, failing to issue accurate maps, switching orders, and clearances, and failing to accurately identify and de-energize lines before work began. The lawsuit also claims CenterPoint failed to maintain its switching equipment in safe working condition. Power Contracting LLC, which is affiliated with Pike Corporation and was hired by CenterPoint, is separately accused of instructing and permitting its crew to work the line as if it were dead, failing to independently test for absence of voltage, failing to verify and confirm clearance, and failing to install protective grounds.
A Widow, Two Sons, and a Mounting Family Toll
One of the injured crew members remained hospitalized after the incident, per the lawsuit. Cooper's family has started a GoFundMe campaign to help his wife and two sons cover funeral costs, household expenses, and other financial obligations; as of this reporting, it had raised $144,637 toward a $170,000 goal. The family is seeking monetary relief from both companies named in the suit.
Buzbee said Cooper was “an incredible husband, wonderful father, great friend, and amazing human.” The attorney added that his job was to prevent similar incidents and to care for Cooper's widow and two children. Buzbee, who has repeatedly sued CenterPoint on behalf of Houston-area families, said he had sued the utility “far too many times for far too many widows.”
Buzbee's history with CenterPoint stretches back years. In 2021, his firm represented two Houston children, ages 10 and 12, who suffered severe burn injuries after encountering an energized CenterPoint service pole in their backyard. In 2024, he filed a separate class-action lawsuit seeking more than $100 million against CenterPoint on behalf of Houston-area businesses over prolonged outages following Hurricane Beryl, a case Hoodline covered when it was filed.
CenterPoint Responds, Contractor Stays Silent
CenterPoint Energy, which serves 2.9 million customers across Greater Houston, said in a statement that it is dedicated to providing safe and reliable electric service, but said it does not comment on pending litigation. Power Contracting LLC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case adds to a pattern of legal exposure tied to line-clearance failures at CenterPoint. In September 2022, a Texas state court entered a $16 million final judgment against CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric LLC after a contractor fell 40 feet from a Tomball electrical pole in 2019 because of a loose step bolt, with plaintiffs' attorneys establishing, according to Canadian Occupational Safety, that CenterPoint knew the pole's step bolts were damaged before the fall.
Power Contracting LLC's affiliate has faced federal scrutiny as well. In March 2022, OSHA cited Pike Electric LLC for three serious safety violations and proposed $43,506 in penalties after the fatal 2021 electrocutions of two 19-year-old apprentice linemen in Alabama, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Federal investigators determined Pike Electric had allowed workers to repair downed power lines without verifying that all jumpers had been removed or providing adequate safety training.
The Deadly Math Behind Line Work
Cooper's death fits into grim national statistics. Data compiled by the Electrical Safety Foundation International shows power-line installers and repairers faced an occupational fatality rate of 6.01 per 100,000 workers between 2011 and 2024, a rate more than 50 times higher than the baseline electrical fatality rate across all U.S. occupations. A separate ten-year study by the same organization found that contact with overhead power lines and unexpected contact with energized parts were the top two causes of workplace electrocutions nationwide, with line workers and electrical trades accounting for 31 percent of all electrical fatalities documented. Federal regulations under 29 CFR 1910.269(m) require utilities and contractors to maintain strict de-energization and grounding procedures on transmission lines, including verifying lines are dead before work begins — the exact standard at the center of the allegations against CenterPoint and Power Contracting. Because Texas requires utilities to report distribution-system fatalities under Public Utility Commission Rule 16 TAC §25.97, state regulators are expected to monitor any findings that emerge from OSHA or the courts regarding Cooper's death.
The lawsuit lands as CenterPoint pursues a $2.7 billion Systemwide Resiliency Plan, approved by Texas regulators in August 2025 to fund grid hardening and safety investments across Greater Houston through 2028. Whether that campaign extends to tightening field safety protocols for contract lineworkers like Cooper remains an open question as the litigation moves forward.
