Authorities are presuming that a Pennsylvania worker is dead following a silo collapse on Jan. 8. The workplace accident took place in Bristol Township in Bucks County while the victim was working at a silo that held concrete production materials. Around 4:30 a.m., the Silvi Properties building in the Riverside Industrial Complex collapsed, and the worker was trapped beneath cement and steel beams.
Rescue crews attempted to find the victim in the rubble for six hours before announcing that the victim was presumed dead. After making the announcement shortly before 10:30 a.m., crews continued to search through the materials. They are now calling the effort a recovery mission rather than a rescue mission. Family members of the victim remained at the scene while the crews worked.
After a worker is killed in this type of accident, the right to file a claim for compensation is passed to the victim’s surviving family members. The spouse, children or parents of a deceased worker may file a workers’ compensation claim to seek death benefits. Some family members are able to claim monthly benefits to help them recover from the sudden loss of their loved one’s income.
Some fatal workplace accidents involve a third party that could be held liable for negligence in a separate civil claim. Family members of a deceased worker might want to speak with an attorney to determine if any third parties were liable for their loved one’s death. A third-party claim can be filed by the family at the same time that a workers’ compensation claim is filed.
Source: NBC Philadelphia, “1 person presumed dead in Bucks County silo collapse,” Alison Burdo, Jan. 8, 2015