Atlanta Braves and former outfielder Jorge Soler sued for allegedly causing a fan injury in 2021

The Atlanta Braves and former outfielder Jorge Soler, now with the Miami Marlins, have both been sued for their actions during Game Three of the 2021 World Series.

Soler, playing right field, finished mid-inning warmups and threw the ball with "great force, speed, and intensity" into the stands, striking the plaintiff in the face and causing "extensive and excruciating injury to her right eye", per the filing in Cobb County Superior Court.

The filing states the Plaintiff suffered "multiple fractures, a right eye edema, and infra-orbital abrasion" that required extensive medical treatment and long-term medical care. She additionally alleges emotional injury that has diminished her quality of life.

The issue here ultimately comes back to the timing of the incident - the filing alleges that the Plaintiff exercised "ordinary and due care for her own personal safety and well-being", but this occurred during a time that the game was "not in play" and therefore presumed the standard of care is lowered - as well as the intensity of Soler's throw - the suit specifically mentions how he threw it into the stands "with excessive force and speed".

There is no mention in the suit of an amount of financial compensation; rather, they are asking for a jury trial to determine general & compensatory damages for current and future medical expenses, punitive damages to deter similar conduct in the future, and monies to cover the expenses of litigation.

There are six total counts, four of which are applied to both Soler and the Braves (negligence, punitive damages, loss of consortium, and expenses of litigation) with the organization being additionally held for premises liability and vicarious liability.

This is not the first time there has been lawsuits in MLB for balls thrown into the stands - a lawsuit was filed in May of this year against the Los Angeles Angels for a similar situation involving then-outfielder Juan Lagares, who threw a caught third out into the stands at the conclusion of an inning in June of 2022.

That lawsuit cited an earlier, settled suit by the Angels after an errant warmup throw struck a child in 2019. The reliever who threw the errant throw, Kenyan Middleton, testified that souvenir baseballs should be handed to fans or softly tossed to them, although it is unknown if there is any formal instruction given by teams to players on how to give away baseballs.

Middleton was not a co-defendant in that suit, but was required to testify; that suit was eventually settled for an undisclosed amount. Lagares was named a co-defendant in the May suit, which is still outstanding.

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