JENKINTOWN PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS

With winter we expect freezing rain, big snowstorms and record low temperatures to be dangerous. But, no one could have predicted the workplace accident that killed a Bucks County Worker.

Fifty-one-year-old Gustav Propper of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, was employed at the Lackawanna County-based company International Salt. The accident occurred at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 2, 2014. Propper was working at the International Salt Storage facility at New Ford Mill Road and Bordentown Road in Morrisville. He was using a front-end loading excavator to move a pile of salt in preparation for an approaching snow storm. The 100 foot high pile of salt collapsed trapping the excavator and the worker.

Rescuers tried to remove Propper using shovels, but the salt pile kept collapsing. First responders had to use heavy equipment in order to remove the excavator and get to the victim. Propper was found sitting in his seat, but he died from asphyxiation before he was rescued. No one else was injured in this unfortunate accident.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the Pennsylvania workplace fatality. At this time, officials do not know the cause of the salt pile collapse. There are no previously reported safety violations at the site.

Propper had worked for International Salt for approximately 15 years. He is survived by his wife and two children. His family described him as “an amazing father and a true family man.” His loss is a real tragedy.

The workplace injury attorneys at Mednick, Mezyk &Kredo, P.C. would like offer our condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Propper.