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Message: [QUOTE="orangecuse, post: 426509, member: 668"] In most states, the parents absolutely would've been able to bring a wrongful death action, regardless of whether he was an employee of ND or not. The most common way around being unable to sue your employer is by bringing/impleading a 3rd party action, etc. So, the parents could have sued the manufacturer or the lift, who in turn would plead an action against the employer, or in this case the university of ND, Brian Kelly individually, etc. Additionally, states have strict labor laws in regards to work/falls from various heights, etc. NYS labor law 240 for instance holds the injured party harmless from heights, regardless if the individual was culpable in any capacity himself. It's known as [I]absolute liability[/I]. The University of ND has/had significant (if not 100%) exposure here if a suit had been brought by the family. ND likely would've hired experts, etc. to allege/argue negligent design, etc. against the manufacture in order to share some of the exposure, or even another 3rd party if that party was responsible for maintenance, etc. of the lift. In the end though, this young man's death likely wasn't worth much from a compensatory standpoint due to how wrongful death cases are typically evaluated. He was 20, single and had no dependents, etc. If he died instantly, there would not be much of a conscious pain and suffering value after pre-impact terror, and certainly very little to nil economic loss due to the aforementioned single, etc. status. Where this potential suit had its greatest exposure, were if the jury awarded punitive damages...that's where ND would've gotten tagged. Though, no doubt, ND would have never let this case go to trial, let alone a verdict. [/QUOTE]

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