Justice Requires that Notre Dame Conduct an Honest Investigation into its Student Death Tragedy:
The danger was open and obvious. The young man, Declan Sullivan, tweeted that he might be killed by going 50 feet in the air to film a football practice in a monster wind storm. The other teams in the area pulled their players inside to avoid the 50 mph winds. But not Notre Dame.
Coach Brian Kelly kept his ND team out there and allowed Sullivan to go 50 feet in the air in a dangerous scissor lift. It seems Kelly's decision sent a 20-year-old student to his death.
Many commentators have called for Kelly to be fired and for ND to settle with Sullivan's family. Both may be appropriate, but there must be more to this incident than a quick settlement and the inevitable calls to "move on." For once, let's not turn the page or "move on." Let's stay right here.
Notre Dame owes the Sullivan family and the public a full investigation and complete accounting for this avoidable tragedy. We need to know if the use of the scissor lift violated federal OSHA standards or Indiana safety laws. We need to know what kind of real training (and by whom) Sullivan had with this construction-type lift. We need to know if Kelly ordered Sullivan on to that lift. We need to know everything.
You can be sure that Notre Dame is going to settle with Sullivan's family. Why would the university want an embarrassing lawsuit that could end in a disastrous jury verdict? But money doesn't put life back in the body of a 20-year-old. For that matter, neither will a full and complete investigation. However, maybe, just maybe, it will help Declan rest in some peace.
My name is Christopher Fusco. I am the managing partner of Callahan & Fusco, LLC with offices in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.