The tragic death of junior Declan Sullivan on October 27, 2010, is not something easily forgotten, nor should it be. But the Notre Dame community got one step closer to some closure recently when the Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration found the university at fault for the accident in their March 15 report.
In its 371-page report, IOSHA found Notre Dame guilty of 6 violations concerning the hydraulic lift that fell over due to heavy winds while Sullivan was filming an Irish football practice. The violations included putting its employees in an unsafe environment, failure to make annual, monthly, or weekly inspections of the lifts for over a year, failure to have the scissor lift serviced as required by the manufacturer, and failure to have an operator’s manual on the unit. Additionally, the lift was missing required warning labels, while others were faded and weathered.
In light of the violations, IOSHA has fined the university $77,500. Notre Dame has until April 7 to accept the violations and pay the fines, contest the orders, or meet with the agency. In a news conference in Indianapolis, agency commissioner Lori Torres declared that Notre Dame was indeed at fault, adding that “the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrated that the university made a decision to utilize its scissor lifts in known adverse weather conditions.”
While IOSHA has found Notre Dame at fault, their report did not place blame on anyone individually. According to Torres, the agency does not typically include individual responsibility in its reports. Deputy Labor Commissioner Jeff Carter said that the investigation focused on whether Notre Dame was at fault, not who at Notre Dame was at fault. However, he did add that “[t]he decision to play outdoors was the coaches – whether they were going to practice inside or outside, I think that was the coaches.”
Notre Dame is currently conducting an investigation of its own, led by university executive vice president John Affleck-Graves. According to Affleck-Graves, the university is going to use the state findings to aid its investigation, which should be finalized in four to six weeks. Following the release of the IOSHA findings, University President Fr. John I. Jenkins issued a statement concerning the report and what he hopes will happen moving forward.
“We will study the details very carefully and take the actions necessary to protect the ongoing safety of our students and staff,” Fr. Jenkins commented. He ended his statement by apologizing again for failing to keep a member of the Notre Dame family safe: “None of these findings can do anything to replace the loss of a young man with boundless energy and creativity. As I said last fall, we failed to keep him safe, and for that we remain profoundly sorry.”
So where do we go from here? Notre Dame, as well as the state of Indiana, is hoping to use this tragic accident as a wake-up call to push for improvements in safety. On Tuesday, March 8, before IOSHA issued its findings, Notre Dame announced that it will no longer use hydraulic lifts to film football practices.
Instead, the university is installing a system of remote-controlled cameras mounted on 50-foot poles and operated from a control room in the Guglielmino Athletics Complex. According to Fr. Jenkins, this move is part of a pledge he made following Sullivan’s death.
“I said in the days after Declan’s death that we would do everything in our power to make changes to ensure that such an accident does not happen again – here or elsewhere,” he said.
Changes may also be seen at other schools and universities in the near future. According to Torres, the Indiana Department of Labor plans on launching an educational initiative concerning the use of hydraulic lifts by universities and high schools for filming football practices, for band practices, and for theatrical productions. They also intend to reach out to the NCAA offices in Indianapolis.
Perhaps this new awareness about safety can be part of Declan Sullivan’s legacy. In a statement following the issuing of the IOSHA findings, the Sullivan family expressed their hope that this would be the case, showing support for Notre Dame’s new remote-controlled system: “It is our sincere desire that universities, high schools and other institutions that use these lifts take to heart that accidents such as these are preventable and can be avoided if the designated safety measures are taken.”
Mike Johnson is a junior in Knott. His thoughts and prayers, as well as those of the entire Rover staff, continue to be with the Sullivan family.