The family of the late ABC sports cameraman Richard Umansky sued the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents for negligence Monday after he died from a falling accident at UW’s Camp Randall.
Umansky, a native of Davie, Florida, fell roughly eight feet from a platform onto a concrete ramp at Camp Randall Stadium while setting up camera equipment last November. He remained unconscious and died Nov. 23,2003, as a result of severe head injuries.
Nov. 21 of that year, Umansky had been working alone on a TV camera installation to cover that Saturday’s game between the UW Badgers and University of Iowa Hawkeyes. A UW staff member found Umansky unconscious on the floor of the stadium entry ramp later that night. The UW Police Department and the Madison Fire Rescue ensured Umansky quickly reached UW Hospital, where he died that Sunday night.
Umansky had worked for ABC Sports for nearly 20 years.
Doug Bradley, UW vice president of university relations, said that UW had not released a statement in response to the lawsuit.
“I heard about the lawsuit,” he said. “But I haven’t seen it or heard [from] our legal council yet. I know the Justice Department defends us in these matters. I saw that the suit was filed and I know people are going to examine it.”
Bradley declined to make further comment.
Harold Umansky of Plainfield, New Jersey, listed as one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
Gerald Thain, UW professor of law, said the amount of money Umansky’s family could receive in damages depends on the degree of negligence involved.
“That depends on how negligent the university was, if there was any negligence at all on the part of the university,” Thain said, adding he remembered when the accident occurred there had been speculation a lawsuit would follow.
He said many factors were involved in determining how much the plaintiffs could ask for.
“The general practice is to try to ask in pleading for as high [a sum] as you think you can justify,” Thain said.
Former Regent Nino Amato, who was on the Board last year, did not recall the incident was ever discussed at that time. He noted the Board usually receives memos if a lawsuit arises, however since this lawsuit is new, “it doesn’t surprise me we wouldn’t have heard about it.”
Beth Richlen, the UW student regent, also did not recall the Board discussing the issue last November.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor, fined ABC Sports $7,000 last year for improperly guarding the open sided platform.
OSHA’s mission is to “assure the safety and health of America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual improvement in workplace safety and health,” according to its website.
Since Umansky’s death, ABC has required anyone working on a platform above five feet to wear a safety harness or a restraining belt, according to the Communication Workers of America webpage. Umansky had been a member of the CWA since 1978.
