Gym and Auto Belay Manufacturer to Pay $6 Million in Settlement for Auto Belay Accident

Seattle’s Vertical World and Colorado-based manufacturer C3, which produces Perfect Descent auto belays, have settled in a lawsuit following a severe climbing accident that occurred on August 1, 2019. The climber, Michael Vandivere, sustained a 30-foot fall and subsequently suffered a number of severe injuries, including 12 pelvic fractures, a traumatic brain injury, lung injuries, bladder laceration, and other fractures. C3 Manufacturing has agreed to pay $5 million and Vertical World will pay an additional $1 million.

The law office representing Vandivere, Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala Attorneys at Law, stated in a press release that Vandivere fell “due to a defective auto-belay device.” Furthermore, the press release stated that the accident was caused by “improper supervision by Vertical World staff, and inadequate training for climbers by Vertical World. Despite using the device properly, the climber fell when the auto-belay device failed to function as intended.”

However, Vertical World issued its own statement, which began: “the statement [from PCVA] is incomplete, misleading, and incorrect in several fundamental respects.” Rich Johnston, the president and owner of Vertical World, spoke with Climbing, saying that it seems the climber failed to fully clip into the auto belay. A witness, according to Johnston, reported that they saw Vandivere attempt to clip in before heading up the route. A closed and intact carabiner was found at the top of the device. Johnston added that “in the three years that I dealt with this lawsuit, they never proved any failure on the belay device that we had in our facility.”

Early on, Vertical World’s insurance company wanted to settle, but Johnston refused. In an interview with Climbing in 2021, Johnston said, “If you start rolling over on stuff like this, the industry is going to be hit.” Things changed during the discovery process of the suit.

It was found that Perfect Descent auto belays were initially recalled in 2016, with documented defects dating back to 2015. The company issued “stop use” and “return for repair notices,” however effective design changes were allegedly not implemented. Further recalls were issued in the subsequent years. According to Darrell Cochran, the lead attorney representing Vandivere, other grievous incidents have occurred since then.

“My understanding is that very similar defect issues led to deaths in a number of places, including Colorado and Australia,” Cochran told Climbing. “C3 Manufacturing likely disputes that its product was responsible for the falls.”

Johnston countered, saying, “C3 did some really questionable things in their engineering of the products and how they did things. But as far as I know, no one was injured on a C3 product due to a failure that is claimed by the plaintiff—they’ve had millions of cycles on their units over the years in the industry. It says that they just didn’t do things correctly.”

The latest recall notice states that the defective devices can “loosen and cause slack on the rope, allowing the climber to fall [to the ground].” Cochran clarified to Climbing that there were issues “with break failure and a failed retraction spring that led to hazardous spooling.” He added that the president of C3, Ronald Naranjo, testified that the design used to create Perfect Descent was based on a device manufactured but later abandoned by the Mine Safety Appliances Company—an organization by which Naranjo was previously employed. That device, the Red Point Descender, was recalled after multiple climbers experienced a rapid descent.

Despite the recalls, Perfect Descent has long been seen as a reputable brand in the industry—the company is the official supplier to the IFSC and World Games. Climbing was unable to reach C3 for comment.

Although Johnston was steadfastly against settling, misconduct from C3’s attorney’s during the legal proceedings made that ever more difficult. After it was revealed that the team had withheld evidence in the lead up to trial, the judge imposed sanctions of nearly $300,000 on C3 and the attorneys. Following the fumble, C3’s insurance company agreed to settle. Johnston found himself in an uncomfortable position; going to court alone was no longer a viable option, so Vertical World settled too.

Johnston founded Vertical World in a warehouse in Seattle in 1987. It was America’s first commercial climbing gym. In 1994, he also served as one of the original board members for the Climbing Wall Association. Ironically, Johnston has been pushing for better auto belay practices for years. At first reluctant to host auto belays in his gyms, he compromised with a stringent and required belay check that all members who wish to use the auto belays must undergo. Following this lawsuit, Johnston says Vertical World will continue to have auto belays, but not any manufactured by C3.

[Read: A History of the Climbing Gym]

As a longtime industry leader, Johnston recommends other gym owners pay attention to this lawsuit. He’s concerned about how, moving forward, insurance companies will look at gyms which host auto belays. “I think that’s going to be a problem,” he said. Garnet Moore, the executive director of the Climbing Wall Association, has been in communication with Johnston and is putting together updated risk management guidelines for the industry.