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A wrongful death at Notre Dame?

bassrique

bassrique

Nov 27, 2007
4,910
1,775
Florida / New York
#1
In a nutshell, a kid was sent up on a hydraulic lift to tape a football practice when it was known there would be high winds that day. The lift tipped over and the kid died from his injuries.

What turned out to be Sullivan's final tweets proved eerie in light of what happened. Pete Byrne of CBS affiliate WTSB in South Bend reports that practice was just starting when Sullivan tweeted a grim premonition: "Gusts of wind up to 60 mph. Well today will be fun at work. I guess I've lived long enough."
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[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

It's a given that ND will have to cough up a ton of cash to the family, but I'm wondering if the coach [Brian Kelly] should be dismissed? Furthermore, should legal action be taken against coach Kelly in civil court?
 
#2
One part of the article says it was a tower, the other says it was a hydraulic lift. Wonder which one it really was? I would think they would have a permanent tower built for that.

It is a sad tragedy for sure. Would a wind gust be considered an act of God?
 
#3
I think it's something like this:

China_hydraulic_elevator_lift20092191502276.jpg
 
#4
Hey Man,Tragedy for sure.Notre Dame have to take responsibility.It's their property,but i don't think that this was the 1st time that they've used the lift to do this kind of thing.If i'm right,legal action against the coach,but it won't bring back the youngster.Sure,they won't allow something like that to happen again.
 
#5
Notre Dame will have to settle with the family. This week there was historic low pressure in the Midwest. At times, the pressure readings were the equivalnet to a level three hurricane which reslted in 80mph winds in some areas. Having someone stand in a tower to film games at that time was very poor and short-sighted judgement.
 
#6
What a terrible waste of a life. How does an attorney spell liability?

Notre Dame will likely have to tell someone with the school what they should have already known-Don't do it-when there's any possibility of wind gusts or strong velocity. The insurance company (or attorneys) will look at whether the lift operated by a trained individual, was it set properly, how level was the terrain, was it parked on grass or other soft ground, was it in a place where it was possible for it to lean in a no wind condition, were the tires inflated properly, and a hundred other questions.
 
#8
MJ5150 said:
Why didn't the kid just come down from the tower and tell someone he wasn't comfortable up there?

-Mike
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Very true, but a young person who wants to be part of the tradition is working hard to help those in charge (authority figures.) If he makes a stink, then he is cast aside, and someone else gets his spot. Most of us have taken some sort of risk at one time or another to "fit in".
 
#11
mmbongo said:
One part of the article says it was a tower, the other says it was a hydraulic lift. Wonder which one it really was? I would think they would have a permanent tower built for that.

It is a sad tragedy for sure. Would a wind gust be considered an act of God?
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not in this case.....i worked with those,as wall as condors and z booms...winds of half of that would be enough to cancel any activity.....as well great care must be taken to ensure that they are level,and that operators are qualified.....a small amount of weight outside the bucket is magnified as to it's effect on the stability at the base,and operators must know all that
 
#13
MJ5150 said:
If bravado got in the way of this guy saving himself, then shame on him.

I won't speculate on how the coach would have handled the situation had the guy come down from the tower.

-Mike
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I'm with you, common sense should've taken over. He "reportedly" tweeted that it was terrifying being on the lift around an hour before the accident.


Notre Dame will have to pay out, but the university and Kelly may not have been ultimately responsible.
 
#15
I checked for definitions of "wrongful death", and this incident does fit:

"A wrongful death lawsuit claims that the victim was killed as a result of negligence (or other type of unjust action) on the part of the person or entity being sued, and that the victim’s survivors are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the improper conduct."

It's absolutely a negligent death. Notre Dame is going to end up paying big, big, big-time for leaving that kid up there. Idiotic, stupid, thoughtless, negligent, unnecessary....those are all words which apply. That lift should have been brought down as soon as wind appeared.
 
#17
Pilgrim said:
I checked for definitions of "wrongful death", and this incident does fit:

"A wrongful death lawsuit claims that the victim was killed as a result of negligence (or other type of unjust action) on the part of the person or entity being sued, and that the victim’s survivors are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the improper conduct."

It's absolutely a negligent death. Notre Dame is going to end up paying big, big, big-time for leaving that kid up there. Idiotic, stupid, thoughtless, negligent, unnecessary....those are all words which apply. That lift should have been brought down as soon as wind appeared.
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I normally like to wait some time until all the facts are in, but this time I have to lean in your direction. I come from a sailing family, and we're kinda sensitive to wind. Leave too much sail up in the wrong conditions, and you are ******. The same caution goes for hydraulic lifts.
 
#18
Those lifts are used at my university and many others - they have a very narrow base and it's evident from a look at them that their use in any significant amount of wind is dangerous. The coaches should have called a halt MUCH earlier.I can't imagine how they could have left that kid up in one of those lifts for an hour with winds blowing.
 
#20
MJ5150 said:
Boomarking this post. ;)

You're a good guy jp58.

-Mike
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Yeah, that hasn't happened a lot during football season, has it? So far we haven't bumped heads in the hockey thread. I better get on that.

anyonefortennis said:
Rudy would have stayed up there.

Shame a life was lost.

Sidenote: Could the guy look any more like the stereotypical ND student?
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He could've been wearing a ND letterman jacket.
 

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