In the latest case of life imitating art, Rosie Perez is suing the producers of Law & Order: SVU after being injured while shooting a guest spot on the hit NBC series. Looks like Dick Wolf and company won’t be vindicating at least one plaintiff this season.
In September 2009, Perez sustained a herniated disc after being shaken by a male extra on the set of the show’s Season 11 episode “Hardwired.” Both were in character at the time, but “he got carried away with the scene,” according to Perez lawyer, Brian O’Dwyer. The two were filming a scene that called for the extra to pull Perez’s character, who was choking a mother outside of a school, off of the other woman.
Although Perez was noticeably injured, she kept filming the scene and the episode until it was a wrap. “There was pressure on her to continue and finish up the episode,” said O’Dwyer.
Afterwards, the actress ended up undergoing two surgeries, including a spinal fusion. For a while, she was forced to wear a neck brace and use a wheelchair. “I’m on the mend. It’s going slow, but I am getting better,” Perez reported in October.
Naturally, O’Dwyer’s version of her physical condition sounded a little different. “She’s still suffering severe pain, numbness of the arms, and she’ll never be the same despite the surgery.”
Perez’s lawsuit against the SVU producers was filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court Wednesday.
Via the New York Daily News
