‘Law & Order: SVU’: Mariska Hargitay Once Sustained a Serious Injury While Filming

It’s hard to envision Law & Order: SVU without the incredibly talented Mariska Hargitay. Having been with the series since its inception, Hargitay is now gearing up for the premiere of its 22nd season. As we prepare for another exciting season, it seems like the perfect time to look back at Hargitay’s journey on the show, including a serious on-set injury she once sustained. Here’s the story.

Mariska Hargitay’s On-Set Injury

In a 2009 interview with Redbook, Hargitay recounted a serious injury she sustained while filming SVU. In 2008, she was performing her own stunts for an episode, which involved jumping onto some pads. During the second take, she landed incorrectly, leading to a small bleed in her lung.

“On October 16, I was doing a stunt chasing a bad guy,” Hargitay explained. “I’d always insisted on doing the stunts my own way, although I don’t feel so strongly about that anymore. I jumped and landed on pads, but on the second take something happened — I just landed wrong. I got up and felt that something inside was not quite right. At first, I thought I had the wind knocked out of me. I was angry with myself. Later, I thought maybe I’d pulled a muscle, but I didn’t focus on the injury and kept expecting it to get better.”

A Serious Complication

Three months passed before Hargitay realized something was seriously wrong. She believed she was recovering, but then began experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath, raising concerns due to her family history of heart issues.

Hargitay recalled feeling a “sharp pain” and being unable to catch her breath. “They took an X-ray and found that my right lung was 50 percent collapsed,” she continued. “I began to panic. I was so scared. I had a procedure hoping to stave off more serious surgery, but it didn’t work, and I ended up in surgery about two weeks later.”

A Challenging Recovery

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of Hargitay’s health issues. She returned to work, only to have her lung collapse again in the same manner on March 5. Statistically, Hargitay said she was one in 1,000 for this to happen twice. Thankfully, she survived and continued her work on the series.

Realizing the risks, Hargitay confirmed to Access Hollywood in 2009 that she now uses a stunt double. “I’ve got a stunt double,” she said at the Gracie Awards in New York City. “I’ve got like three!”

Looking Ahead to Season 22

Mariska Hargitay will return for season 22 of Law & Order: SVU, premiering on Thursday, November 12, at 9 p.m. EST. Hopefully, there will be no more injuries in her future, and fans can continue to watch her captivating performance as she takes down the bad guys on this iconic series.