Rosie Perez Says She's Special Victim of Law & Order: SVU

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by Marianne Garvey | Thu., May. 19, 2011 10:30 AM

SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Rosie Perez is taking Law & Order: SVU to court—for real.

The actress, who played the mother of an abused child on the show in September of 2009, claims she suffered serious neck injuries while filming, and she is now suing the production companies behind the series for negligence, her lawyer Brian O'Dwyer confirms to E! News.

So what exactly happened to land the Do the Right Thing star in a wheelchair?

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Perez, 46, claims that while on the series she was injured when an actor grabbed her during a scene in which her character scuffled with another performer, her lawyer says.

Read the documents

The suit, filed against Northern Entertainment Productions and DDF Films, the companies behind the show, accuses both of "recklessly and carelessly failing to utilize skilled performers or experienced stunt personnel."

Perez, who had surgery to fix her problem, showed off a scar in public last July where she had bone marrow placed in her neck.

The actress alleges her pain was so severe at one point she was forced to attend a White House meeting while in a wheelchair.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.

Perez claims she was forced to drop out of a New York production of A Free Man of Color because of her injuries.

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