By KEVIN ALLEN, South Bend Tribune Staff Writer WSBT-TV

9:57 a.m. EDT, March 15, 2011

Sullivan's parents, Alison and Barry Sullivan, said in an e-mailed statement that they appreciate IOSHA's thoroughness and regard the report as an important step in preventing future accidents, even though it doesn't change the fact that their son is no longer with them.

"It is our sincere desire that universities, high schools and other institutions that use these lifts take to heart that accidents such as these are preventable and can be avoided if the designated safety measures are taken," the e-mail reads.

The Sullivans added that they are grateful for the respect Notre Dame has shown them during the past several months and the open line of communication the university has maintained with them. They also commended the school for its announcement last week that it will no longer use lifts to film practices. Instead, the athletic department is installing remote-controlled cameras at the practice fields.

"We are pleased to see they are doing things in a public way so other organizations will learn from this event and, hopefully, other families will not have to go through what our family has had to go through," Mike Miley, the uncle of Declan Sullivan, said in a phone interview.

IOSHA's Carter said universities generally haven't attracted much attention from the agency. He said Notre Dame's fine in this instance is the largest levied against an Indiana university for a workplace safety violation in at least five years.

Torres said IOSHA investigated complaints about workplace safety at Notre Dame in 2007 and 2008 as well, but the agency found no violations in either case.

Notre Dame has 15 business days to accept the violations and pay the fines, contest them to the Indiana Board of Safety Review or to request an informal conference.

John Affleck-Graves, the university's executive vice president, said school officials plan to meet with IOSHA representatives again before that deadline. He said Notre Dame also will issue its own report about the incident, likely within the next four to six weeks.

Staff writer Kevin Allen:
kallen@sbtinfo.com
574-235-6244

To read the entire release from the University with statements from university officials, see the document in the related content section of this page.