The University of Notre Dame blames outdated weather information and failure to check wind advisories in a report on the death of football team videographer and student Declan Sullivan.
According to a Chicago Tribune news article, a university report released Monday claims the football program relied on outdated weather information and did not check wind advisories on Oct. 27th when Sullivan, of Long Grove, Ill., went up in an aerial scissor lift to record a team practice. The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory that day, and gusts reached 53 mph about the time that the scissor lift in which he was working crashed through a fence and landed on an nearby street, killing him.
Notre Dame’s internal report claims that no one acted in disregard for safety, rather “a sudden and extraordinary wind and insufficient, long-standing protocols” led to Sullivan’s death. The Rev. John Jenkins, Notre Dame president, is quoted as saying “The university is collectively responsible,” in the Chicago Tribune article. “Insofar as the president is responsible for the university as a whole, I am the individual who bears the most responsibility and I accept that responsibility.”
Though the industry recommends grounding the equipment when winds exceed 28 mph Notre Dame’s threshold is 35 mph, according to the report. Checking weather websites, the staff noted 23 mph winds and 30 mph gusts prior to practice, but no one on the staff clicked on a wind advisory icon that warned of possibilities in excess of 50 mph that day.
Eight minutes after the football staff checked the weather for the final time, the National Weather Service reported wind gusts up to 38 miles per hour in South Bend. With no wind gauges on the field, the staff relied on their own observations to determine safe conditions. According to the report, no one perceived the wind as unusual and no one determined wind speeds were increasing during practice.
Sullivan, expressed concerns on social media sites shortly before his death, posting, "Gusts of wind up to 60 mph today will be fun at work ... I guess I've lived long enough.”
In the report, university officials said they could not explain the student’s mindset and did not know why he didn’t lower his lift if he felt it was unsafe. The football program fosters an atmosphere that encourages videographers to put their personal safety before the team’s practice needs, according to the report.
Indiana OSHA fined the South Bend, Ind., campus $77,500 in March for ignoring industry standards that could have prevented Sullivan's death. The university report takes exception with the agency’s ruling that it knowingly operated lifts in dangerous weather conditions.
"Although the University respects IOSHA’s view, the Investigation did not find any evidence that University employees knew they were using lifts in wind speeds which exceeded lift capabilities. Although employees monitored wind data frequently throughout the day prior to leaving for practice, they never saw reported wind speeds that exceeded the 35 mph wind-safety procedure,” the report states. “The staff made a subjective, good faith judgment based upon the weather information they had reviewed.”
No one was disciplined for their role in the accident, Jenkins said. And, the football athletic trainer, who oversees team safety, has since been given a new job title and increased responsibilities.
According to the Chicago Tribune, as a result of the report, the university will adopt new safety protocols, including the installation of on-field wind gauges and the adoption of a wind-speed standard to operate lifts. The university reports it will also work with IOSHA, the NCAA and a collegiate videographers association on a national safety campaign for hydraulic lift use.
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