The University of Notre Dame has been fined $77,500 for ignoring industry standards that could have prevented the death of a football team videographer who died last year after the hydraulic lift he was using toppled in strong winds, the Indiana Occupational Health and Safety Administration reported.
The fine marks the culmination of the agencys investigation into the death of student Declan Sullivan. The accident was labeled a preventable workplace fatality. (WCxKit)
"Notre Dame did not establish and maintain conditions of work that were reasonably safe for its employees," the agency remarked in a statement.
Sullivan, a 20-year-old film and marketing student from Illinois, was working as a paid employee of the schools athletic department on Oct. 27, when he went up in an aerial scissor lift to document the football teams practice.
The National Weather Service had issued a wind advisory for the day, and gusts reached 51 mph about the time of Sullivans fall. The lift carrying Sullivan crashed through a fence and landed on a street. (WCxKit)
After Sullivans death, Notre Dame officials were criticized for failing to take responsibility for the incident and for appearing to put the teams interests ahead of the student videographer.
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