Former student sues UI over 2012 fall from climbing wall

A former University of Iowa student has filed a civil lawsuit alleging that the university is liable for the injuries he sustained when he fell nearly 40 feet from the campus recreation center's climbing wall almost two years ago.

According to a lawsuit — which is filed against the state of Iowa as the owner and operator of UI — filed June 26 in Johnson County District Court, Spencer Bean, a resident of Highland Park, Ill., was climbing the UI Campus Recreation and Wellness Center's rock climbing wall Nov. 8, 2012, when he fell from the 50-foot rock climbing wall.

Martin Diaz, Bean's representing attorney, said the fall happened when something failed with the belay device — which is supposed to prevent falls from occurring — that Bean was attached to while climbing the wall.

"That allows you to re-engage to the wall and get yourself up or down from the wall," Diaz said, adding that for an unknown reason, the belay failed. "We know that it wasn't (Bean's) fault."

Court documents indicate that Bean was a UI recreational services student-employee assigned to the climbing wall — though he was not working at the time of his injury — and was certified to top-rope climb and lead climb when he fell from the wall after reaching about the ninth bolt up on the climbing wall.

An experienced climber, Bean fell between 30 and 40 feet and landed on his feet, causing various injuries, including two crushed vertebrae, according to court documents.

UI officials closed the climbing wall from Nov. 9, 2012, through Jan. 22, 2013, to allow for an investigation by UI Department of Public Safety and the university, which concluded that neither the wall nor its components contributed to Bean's fall, according to court documents.

Following the UI investigation and conclusion, Bean filed a claim with the State Appeal Board, which was denied May 5, according to court documents.

Bean alleges in the lawsuit that UI negligence was responsible for his injuries by failing to provide proper supervision over climbing wall participants, failing to properly train climbing wall participants, failing to monitor and test the climbing wall's belayers on belaying equipment.

The university requires climbers to pass a safety check to use the rock climbing wall and climbers generally are spotted by someone on the ground through a belay system.

UI spokesman Tom Moore said in a Wednesday email that UI is prohibited from discussing matters that involve pending litigation.

Diaz said more information will become available as the lawsuit works through the legal process.

"At this point we don't know as much as we want to know," he said.

Reach Mitchell Schmidt at maschmidt@press-citizen.com or at 887-5402.