Despite Safety Measures, Stadium Falls Occur Even with dozens of safety measures in place, experts say there's no way to fully protect a ballpark or arena against falls like the one that killed a Braves fan at a game in Atlanta. Ronald Homer fell 85 feet to his death Monday night after tumbling over a fourth-level railing at Turner Field. Though police said the 30-year-old's death appeared to be an accident, it was one of more than two dozen cases of fans falling at stadiums since 2003, according to the Institute for the Study of Sports Incidents. Three of the falls occurred within the last year alone in Atlanta, at Turner Field and the Georgia Dome. But that doesn't mean something is wrong with the Atlanta stadiums, said Alana Penza, director of the institute, which is part of the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security, based at the University of Southern Mississippi. "The reality of it is, Turner Field has had two major incidents in the past five years," Penza said. When it results in a death, it always makes you look at change. ... But it's also, in the simplest terms, an accident often. Though teams and municipalities can build stadiums in the design of their choosing, all must meet strict safety guidelines. The International Building Code is the industry standard, adopted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It calls for railings in front of seats to be a minimum of 26 inches. Protective railings in open-sided areas, such as concourses on the outer edges of stadiums, have a minimum height requirement of 42 inches. "It's sad to say someone could lose their life and not yield some lesson for the rest of us, but this one is pretty close based on the initial reports," said Steve Adelman, an attorney who is considered an authority on venue safety and security. It's just a tragedy. An Associated Press reporter on Tuesday measured the guard rail of the smoking platform where Homer stood before he fell, and it was 42 inches. That would reach the top of the stomach on a 6-foot man. Homer was 6-foot-6. Was it adequate? Certainly," said Adelman, who is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. The venue has a legal duty to erect and maintain railings that are high enough to keep people reasonably safe, given their reasonably foreseeable conduct at the venue. ... Because it's not very common to be standing at a railing nowhere near the playing field and, for some reason, lean over and fall - there is no other instance of it happening in the last 20 years - the venue doesn't have a legal duty to create safety mechanisms to prevent something which doesn't happen. Most ballparks go beyond the minimum requirements, Adelman said. When the Miami Marlins were building their new ballpark, which opened in 2012, building inspectors recommended raising the height of some railings, he said. "People don't understand how much it takes to get a major league event off the ground," Adelman said. These buildings don't go up overnight. Many, many, many people have to sign off on different aspects of a stadium that will be the centerpiece and crown jewel of a municipality. There are city building inspectors up and down who are looking at these buildings at every stage of construction. "There is never a time when railing heights are lowered," he added.