Preventable mistakes killed worker at Dickies Arena. We need to know who’s responsible
Juan Carlos Julian Jr.’s young life shouldn’t have ended as he worked to clean up at Dickies Arena.
A basic failure — the improper installation of a switch for a gate — was responsible for Julian’s death, Fort Worth Star-Telegram reporter Gordon Dickson discovered in an investigation. Dickson’s findings show how a tragedy is compounded when it could have been so easily avoided.
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But there was no mesh, and the switch was installed on the gate’s post, easily reachable from outside the gate. Julian, a 24-year-old who was cleaning the arena in the early morning hours of Dec. 7 after a TCU basketball game at the arena, was apparently locked out. He reached through to activate the gate and got his arm caught. He was pinned and his body was crushed.
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The installation mistakes were easily preventable. But there’s a lot we still don’t know about how they happened because city officials, arena managers and Julian’s employer all declined to answer Dickson’s questions.
They are in the middle of investigations, including by federal workplace safety officials. But Fort Worth owes answers to the taxpayers who own the arena. For one thing, as of Wednesday night, the switch remained in the wrong location and no mesh was installed on the gate. That needs to be fixed immediately.
And while the arena and its contractors will no doubt look to manage their legal liability, a full accounting for the mistakes is due. It could end up being costly if, for instance, installation instructions were disregarded or questions were raised but ignored.
Dickies Arena is a gem for Fort Worth. Private donors — chiefly financier Ed Bass — gave hundreds of millions of dollars over the city’s capped contribution to make it a great venue for sports and concerts. The thought and attention to detail are one reason it’s already seen as a prize.
This tragedy shouldn’t diminish that. But it does demand answers and a thorough accounting of what went wrong, for Julian’s family and for the arena’s owners: the people of Fort Worth.
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 2:21 PM.