Fan dies after fall at Rangers game

[bigruss]

A safety net isn't really the best answer there...there's a lot you could do with the railing itself. First of all it should have been taller, it's too easy for a person to put his or her center of mass well to the opposite side of the railing. Second, the horizontal bar configuration is a very poor design...a person or a kid can stand on the lower bar and push himself/herself farther out and into a more dangerous situation (I know I did that as a kid at amusement parks).

 

The right design is a railing tall enough that people can't genuinely lean over it with tightly spaced vertical bars in-between....but the one problem is that it would probably cost you a row of seats, since an effective fence would be in the way of the lowest row of seats, so you'd have to sacrifice some revenue to do the safety part correct.

A solid safety net would have saved his life, and would save anybody else damage if they fell over. It wouldn't hurt the view or fan experience too.

[LittleHurt05]

A quality building inspector and a quality architectural design team will do everything possible to consider these one in a million safety events. It doesn't happen daily at the ballparks because you can design things better than that fence, and your inspectors make sure that ballparks do so.

 

If you have 100 fences that are designed poorly, you'll only run into the right set of circumstances once in a blue moon, but when the response is to scream "Personal responsibility!" as some sort of mantra lecturing the guy who did what a normal father would do, then we're really just accepting these events because it's the fan's fault.

 

A normal father would do? I'm sure many fathers would have reached out with one hand while keeping one hand on the railing. Other fathers would have slightly reached over but did it carefully to not lose their balance. Then they would have said "Sorry son, I couldn't get that one. We will get another chance to catch one."

 

There definitely could have been issues with the railing's height. However, that doesn't mean you can say any fan would have fallen to his death or that he shouldn't have been way more careful.

[Balta1701]

A normal father would do? I'm sure many fathers would have reached out with one hand while keeping one hand on the railing. Other fathers would have slightly reached over but did it carefully to not lose their balance. Then they would have said "Sorry son, I couldn't get that one. We will get another chance to catch one."

 

There definitely could have been issues with the railing's height. However, that doesn't mean you can say any fan would have fallen to his death or that he shouldn't have been way more careful.

And if you don't believe that an overwhelming majority of fans would have gone to just about any lengths to grab a foul ball for their son standing next to them...then either you're being totally dishonest or you aren't a baseball fan.

 

Except for the person with a genuine fear of heights, everyone here who has seen that video would have done the exact same thing. I'd have reacted the exact same way as that guy.

[southsider2k5]

And if you don't believe that an overwhelming majority of fans would have gone to just about any lengths to grab a foul ball for their son standing next to them...then either you're being totally dishonest or you aren't a baseball fan.

 

Except for the person with a genuine fear of heights, everyone here who has seen that video would have done the exact same thing. I'd have reacted the exact same way as that guy.

 

I'm going with having common sense.

[Balta1701]

I'm going with having common sense.

I flat out do not believe you. You are lying both to me and to yourself.

[BigSqwert]

I flat out do not believe you. You are lying both to me and to yourself.

You're both expressing opinions.

[LittleHurt05]

I'm going with having common sense.

 

I have to agree with this. Are there other fans who would have done the same thing? Of course. Does that suddenly make it a smart decision? No. Would a majority of fans have been a bit more careful and chose safety over a baseball? I have to think so.

[southsider2k5]

I flat out do not believe you. You are lying both to me and to yourself.

 

That I don't lean over walls to grab things at heights? Uh, believe what you want, but I'm not much interested in breaking a bunch of bones in my body for a baseball. At worst it drops to the ground and you try again. I've actually done that before years ago with Kirby Puckett of all people. I still have the ball.

[Jordan4life_2007]

You're both expressing opinions.

 

No, Balta has spoken. Because one man disregarded his personal safety for a $10 baseball anybody would. This is fact. If you don't believe this fact you're a liar.

[Balta1701]

No, Balta has spoken. Because one man disregarded his personal safety for a $10 baseball anybody would. This is fact. If you don't believe this fact you're a liar.

You really believe that the fact that it's worth $10 plays into anyone's reactions here?

 

The only reason why people wouldn't do exactly what this guy did is that they've now seen it happen. We see people leaning out over the upper deck in worse spots all the time, they just have better railings at most of those. We see people fall over fences fairly regularly. This one was just in the wrong spot.

[southsider2k5]

You really believe that the fact that it's worth $10 plays into anyone's reactions here?

 

The fact that it is not worth getting really, really hurt, or obviously worse, is what plays into my reaction.

[caulfield12]

LOL.

 

From Old Comiskey Park, there's nothing people hate more than obstructed view seats.

 

Having higher railings or railings with vertical as well as horizontal bars would block a lot of views in the first 2-3 rows, which is where people will usually choose to sit in any part of the stadium (except for those with fear of heights in the upper decks).

 

It's a tough call.

 

When you think of the literally millions of times a baseball player has tossed a ball into the front rows, isn't this the first time in history a fan has died as a direct result? In over 50 years or so of ballplayers doing this?

 

Needless to say, more youngsters die in injuries suffered playing middle/high school football or baseball than fans falling over railings in just the right set of circumstances (only 20 feet fall, going over the railing at exactly the wrong angle, falling in exactly the wrong place, where there's a narrow enclosed space with lots of concrete and metal stanchions).....yet how many parents forbid their parents from playing these sports? Some, let's say 25%, but not the majority.

 

How many people don't wear their seat belts or drink and drive when they've had "just a couple"? Or talk/text/type on their cellphones while driving?

 

For the good of the "majority" of fans, that's why you don't have netting all over the entire stadium...as well as the expense, too.

 

 

Edited July 11, 2011 by caulfield12

[Balta1701]

When you think of the literally millions of times a baseball player has tossed a ball into the front rows, isn't this the first time in history a fan has died as a direct result? In over 50 years or so of ballplayers doing this?

Depends...do you count the fan who died in 2010? At Rangers ballpark? While Reaching over the railing to try to grab a foul ball?

[caulfield12]

Balta, that fan was severely injured but didn't end up dying. And it wasn't a fall "instigated" by a ballplayer throwing a souvenir into the stands.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/07/09/fan.falls/index.html

Edited July 11, 2011 by caulfield12

[BigSqwert]

Balta, that fan was severely injured but didn't end up dying.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/07/09/fan.falls/index.html

Oh snap!

 

[Balta1701]

Balta, that fan was severely injured but didn't end up dying.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SPORT/07/09/fan.falls/index.html

Ok, I'm corrected, my mistake.

[southsider2k5]

Oh snap!

 

 

Damn I miss in Living Color.

[RockRaines]

You really believe that the fact that it's worth $10 plays into anyone's reactions here?

 

The only reason why people wouldn't do exactly what this guy did is that they've now seen it happen. We see people leaning out over the upper deck in worse spots all the time, they just have better railings at most of those. We see people fall over fences fairly regularly. This one was just in the wrong spot.

Or the reason people wont lean over a railing is because they realize they can fall. The railing was the exact height of many balconies on highrises all over Chicago. I'm betting people falling off of them is an extremely rare occurrence. If they do fall over, its simply their fault for not understanding their own balance as a human and being particularly stupid.

[RockRaines]

100% yes. That still remains the single worst example you could possibly give in your case.

One of the most frivolous lawsuits in history? One that was a flashpoint for Tort reform? Ha, its a great example. Sometimes people are just stupid.

[bigruss]

One of the most frivolous lawsuits in history? One that was a flashpoint for Tort reform? Ha, its a great example. Sometimes people are just stupid.

Well, the lady did have a point in that McDonald's coffee was extremely hot compared to the industry average temperature, which caused her burns to be worse. But yea, she was an idiot to begin with.

[Balta1701]

One of the most frivolous lawsuits in history? One that was a flashpoint for Tort reform?

Somewhere like the 700th burn case involving that beverage from that company within the decade from 1982-1992, with prior settlements out of court of up to $500k before that case?

[RockRaines]

Somewhere like the 700th burn case involving that beverage from that company within the decade from 1982-1992, with prior settlements out of court of up to $500k before that case?

LOL, every company that has served hot coffee has been sued. Most of them were thrown out. At some point, stupid people thin themselves out of the herd. The guy riding a motorcycle at 200mph with no helmet and the guy who leans over a balcony on the 30th floor to point to a car below. You cant build a world with padded walls and safety nets for every idiot that wants to do something idiotic.

 

700 people burned themselves out of 10+ billion. Wow, the horror!

Edited July 11, 2011 by RockRaines

[G&T]

One of the most frivolous lawsuits in history? One that was a flashpoint for Tort reform? Ha, its a great example. Sometimes people are just stupid.

 

Uh...no. As I recall the facts, McDonalds had been intentionally keeping the coffee dangerously hot in order to prevent people from actually tasting their terrible coffee. There were memos that proved it. The coffee was so hot, in fact, that it completely burned her reproductive organs through her clothes.

[RockRaines]

Uh...no. As I recall the facts, McDonalds had been intentionally keeping the coffee dangerously hot in order to prevent people from actually tasting their terrible coffee. There were memos that proved it. The coffee was so hot, in fact, that it completely burned her reproductive organs through her clothes.

Yes, she burned herself with a hot beverage. Of course she could have not dumped it on herself. I'm sure knife manufacturers are inundated with lawsuits because their blades are too sharp. A lady in Chicago sued a vacuum cleaner company for it sucking her hair out.

 

As for the temperature issue. Coffee is optimally brewed at around 200 degrees, the coffee she spilled was about 185 degrees. She basically received coffee that had been brewed at less than the optimum temperature. Maybe they should have let it sit longer in a pot before pouring it, or maybe the lady shouldnt have poured it all over her sweatpants by placing it between her legs instead of a cupholder.

[Kyyle23]

i love lamp