Rosie Perez suing 'Law and Order: SVU" for 2009 work injury

May 20, 2011, 08:59 by R.E. Christian

Actress Rosie Perez has filed a personal injury lawsuit against "Law & Order: SVU," the New York Daily News reports.

Perez guest-starred on an episode of the NBC show in October of 2009, where she claims an extra shook her during a scene that caused a herniated disc in her back that has required two surgeries thus far to fix.

The scene involved Perez, 46, playing an angry mother who assaults another mother in a car when another actor playing a crossing guard pulls her away.

Perez's lawyer Brian O'Dwyer told the newspaper: "The thing to do was taking someone who knows what he's doing to make it look violent without being violent. This person was not a stuntman, he was just an extra."

The suit was officially filed on Wednesday in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, claiming that at the time Perez felt pressure to continue working despite her pain.

The actress underwent a spinal fusion procedure in July, where bone marrow from her pelvis was transplanted into her vertebrae. Her lawyer says that she still has severe pain and numbness, injuries that will never fully recover despite the surgeries.

The suit also claims that Perez has not been able to work in a year because of the injury.

No specific dollar amount has been specified, however the newspaper reports that O'Dwyer will be seeking "very substantial" damages.

Perez has previously won an Oscar nomination for her performance in "Fearless", and is also known for her roles in "Do the Right Thing", "White Men Can't Jump" and "Pineapple Express".