Notre Dame President Admits Fault in Student Death

Notre Dame President, the Rev. John Jenkins, sent a campus-wide email yesterday that stated the school “failed to protect” its student Declan Sullivan. Sullivan was a student videographer who was ordered onto a 50 foot scissor lift to film football practice during a massive wind storm. He was killed when the lift tipped over.
In his email, President Jenkins said that ND was “responsible” for this avoidable tragedy.
The effect of this email is that Notre Dame has admitted liability for Sullivan’s death. In the practice of law, we would now refer to this incident as a “damages case.” Notre Dame has taken the issue of liability off the table (which is admirable) and now is left to reach a financial settlement with Declan’s family.
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