Braves, family of fan who fell to his death over railing settle suit

The case, which was to go to trial this month, ends after mountainous filings of legal briefs and pre-trial depositions taken of Braves' officials and other baseball executives, including Nolan Ryan, the Hall of Fame pitcher who became president of the Texas Rangers.

The Murreys' lawsuit contended the fatal fall could have been avoided. Both the Braves and Major League Baseball knew that fans seated near railings were at risk because several fans had fallen at other ballparks with similar railings, court filings alleged. (MLB was an initial defendant in the case, but Fulton County State Court Judge John Mather dismissed the league from the case.)

According to court documents, MLB had advised teams that guardrails can be as low as 26 inches — the minimum height set decades ago under the International Building Code. The Murreys’ lawsuit said the Braves’ 30-inch railings at Turner Field still weren’t high enough. It also said protective netting could had been installed on the upper deck to prevent falls.

In his pretrial deposition, Ryan said the Rangers raised their guardrails to 42 inches in 2012 because a fan flipped over a 30 1/2-inch railing and fell to his death at a July 7, 2011, game.

“I just felt that we probably need to protect our fans from themselves,” Ryan testified.

At the Braves’ current stadium, Truist Park, the height of the upper deck railings is 36 inches, according to court filings.