Atlanta Braves.Photo: Rich Schultz/Getty
The impact from the ball allegedly did severe damage to the woman’s eye socket and left her with “serious and excruciating injuries,” she and her husband claim in the 10-page complaint filed in Cobb County Superior Court on Oct. 25.
The filing claims that Norris, the mother to two young children, suffered multiple broken bones in her eye socket, and accuses the Braves and Soler of “dangerous and reckless” behavior.
The Atlanta Braves logo.Mike Zarrilli | Getty Images Sport
Norris' attorney Susan Shaw told theWashington Post,“This was not a situation where a player is throwing a souvenir ball to a fan or visitor to the game. This is a situation where he threw overhand with extreme force and speed."
Shaw added that “there was no time” for her client “to react” to the ball coming towards her, “If they’re going to throw a ball into the stands, that’s fine,” she told thePost, “but they need to do so with some reasonable standard of care.”
The Atlanta Braves and Soler’s management did not immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Immediately after the ball hit Norris, Braves security reportedly documented the incident in a team medical office where photos of her injuries were taken, she says in the lawsuit.
Doctors at a hospital in Kennesaw, Ga. diagnosed Norris with multiple face fractures the following day and she underwent surgery roughly three weeks after the incident, thePostreported. Norris also said she is still required to see doctors regularly for follow-up appointments and her medical treatment in the two years has cost roughly $60,000.
Atlanta Braves field.Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty
TheBraves won the 2021 World Series4-2 over the Houston Astros.
In 2019, the Astros were the subject of a similar complaint whena Texas woman sued the teamfor $1 million after she said a t-shirt cannon fired at one of their games in 2018 fractured her finger in what she described as a “life-changing” ordeal.
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Jennifer Harughty said she was watching her beloved Astros take on the Chicago White Sox on July 8 when the team’s mascot, Orbit, fired the popular t-shirt cannon, sending one straight toward her as she sat in the third-base stands,according to KTRK. Harughty underwent two surgeries, but claimed she still had little to no use of the finger at the time she filed the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accused the team of negligence, noting that the Astros failed to use reasonable care when firing the t-shirt cannon, accordingto theHouston Chronicle. The suit also claimed that the Astros failed to provide adequate warnings to attendees about the dangers of the cannon.
Harughty and the Astros ultimately settled the dispute in Oct. 2020 and she was awarded a “confidential” amount of money in a settlement, according to theHouston Chronicle.
source: people.com
