The Phillie Phanatic has been a staple for Philadelphia baseball fans since its debut in 1978. But now the large, green creature will find himself in the courtroom after Suzanne Peirce, of suburban Abington, Pa., filed paperwork to sue the mascot after he tossed her into a pool.

Pierce, 37, is suing the Philadelphia Phillies for injuries she sustained while she was in a lounge chair. She says the mascot lifted her up and tossed her into a pool at a hotel in July 2010, Reuters reported.

The woman was attending a wedding at the Golden Inn Hotel and Resort in New Jersey where she was watching the Phanatic's comical routine in which he was "engaging in various antics" just before the incident occurred, according the lawsuit, the New York Post reported.

Pierce said nearly every part of her body was injured when the Phanatic picked her up and tossed her into the pool. She alleged she suffered "severe and permanent injuries to her head, neck, back, body, arms and legs, bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and tissues."

Those injuries allegedly cost her "large sums of money" to treat her "physical pain, mental anguish and humiliation," reported Reuters.

"She felt she wasn't going to get any better - and, in fact, she's getting worse," said Aaron Denker, Pierce's attorney, explaining why she filed the suit two years later, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

Pierce is seeking an unspecified compensation for damages and the costs of the suit.

The Philadelphia Phillies dispute the claims. 

"We don't believe the Phanatic engaged in any wrongful behavior," said team spokeswoman Bonnie Clark, according to The Press of Atlantic City.

It is unclear who was wearing the suit at the time of the incident. The lawsuits list several Phillies employees: Tom Burgoyne, Matt Mehler and any other unknown worker employed as the mascot.

The mascot has been involved in several scrapes in the past decade. In one instance, he hugged a person too hard and in another he sat on top of an arthritic woman's legs, causing injury, reported The Press.

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