Baseball

The upper-deck railing at Turner Field should have been higher than 33 inches, the family of a man who fell to his death at an Atlanta Braves game last year claimed in court. In a wrongful-death suit filed in Fulton County, Georgia against the Braves and Major League Baseball, the family of Greg Murrey says his death could easily have been prevented if Turner Field had guardrails at least 42 inches high.

As reported by The Courthouse News, Murrey, 60, was sitting in section 401 of the stadium on Aug. 29, 2015, when he stood up to boo New York Yankees hitter Alex Rodriguez as he was walked to the plate. The season-ticket holder then fell over the railing and plummeted 50 feet, landing on concrete. He was later pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital.

“The Braves and MLB knew that spectators at baseball games get up during the course of a game — both spontaneously to react to events at the stadium and in response to prompting by an announcer,” the complaint states.

The Atlanta Braves baseball team has asked an appeals court to find the team not liable for the serious injuries suffered by a 6-year-old girl who was struck by a ball.

As reported in the Insurance Journal, attorneys for the team want the Georgia Court of Appeals to apply what’s known as the “baseball rule.” Already in force in some other states, the rule holds that if a stadium operator provides protective screening behind home plate, it cannot be held liable for balls and bats inadvertently flung into the stands.

The ongoing lawsuit was brought by a father who took his 6-year-old daughter to a May 30, 2010, game at Turner Field. Braves outfielder Melky Cabrera hit a ball behind the third-base dugout. It struck the girl in the head, fractured her skull in 30 places and causing a traumatic brain injury.

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