Rosie Perez's Neck Injury On The Set Of "Law & Order: SVU"
Readers my be familiar with Rosie Perez from the movie "White Men Can't Jump."
While shooting a recent TV drama, Perez was shaken vigorously by a co-star that occurred during a guest appearance on "Law & Order: SVU" last year. At first she did not realize the full extent of her injury. She later had to have spinal fusion surgery as a result of the herniated disc injury she suffered on the set.
She has now instituted suit in New York against the producers of the show.
No one is immune from injury. We all know that intuitively. As teenagers, we all think we are immortal. As we become older and our joints start hurting we realize how prone we are to injury. Whether the setting is in the seat of a motor vehicle or on a movie set, the universal laws of physics impact our bodies whether we are prepared for it or not.
The type of injury that Rosie Perez sustained is fairly common, and we see herniated disc cases a lot in our personal injury practice. How she sustained the injury was unusual. But from a strictly legal point of view what strikes me as interesting is whether she will ever be able to be compensated for her injuries. She may be prevented from proceeding with her personal injury case due to workers' compensation laws in New York where she was injured. Those laws are designed to pay an injured accident victim injured on the job by a co-employee medical bills and wage loss, but are not designed to compensate for personal injuries. If Ms. Perez was in fact injured by a coworker on the set, her personal injury claim likely will not go forward.
