When a celebrity has a run-in with the law, it rarely goes unnoticed. The spotlight comes with a whole host of upsides. Still, some drawbacks can have serious consequences—like encounters with the insatiable hoards of paparazzi, under the microscope of social media gossip sleuths, public details of their worst moments plastered across national papers, and opportunistic folks looking to cash in on their wealth.
Sometimes, lawsuits against celebrities can seem fully warranted; other times, they come from someone who knows the rich and famous. For these reasons, A-listers tend to find themselves on the receiving end of personal injury legal battles.
A personal injury lawsuit involves one party claiming that negligent or reckless behavior led to physical injury by another party. To look into some of the most notorious disputes of this kind, Recovery Law Center compiled a list of nine celebrities who have been sued over personal injury claims, sourcing from various news articles and court documents on the cases.
From a dog bite to a dance battle, check out these famous personal injury lawsuits—and find out whether their names were cleared or if they had to fork over millions.
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Gwyneth Paltrow
In 2016, actor Gwyneth Paltrow was involved in a “hit-and-run” ski crash at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah, with retired optometrist Terry Sanderson. Sanderson was on a beginner run when Paltrow allegedly collided with him, causing him to sustain four broken ribs and a concussion. While Paltrow’s defense claimed Sanderson was exaggerating his injuries, his attorney claimed Paltrow had violated a local ordinance requiring skiers to stop and help injured parties in a collision.
Three years later, Sanderson sued Paltrow for $300,000, though he initially attempted to seek an excess of $3.1 million. Paltrow countersued for a symbolic $1 in addition to repayment of legal fees, claiming it was Sanderson who had actually rammed into her.
After a widely memed, two-week televised trial, the jury ultimately swung in Paltrow’s favor. “I felt that acquiescing to a false claim compromised my integrity,” the actor and Goop founder said in an Instagram Story after the verdict came down in March 2023.
Britney Spears
Britney Spears has been embroiled in numerous court cases over the years—most infamously, those involving her conservatorship and legal dispute with her father, Jamie Spears, that reached a settlement in 2024. But the “…Baby One More Time” singer was sued for personal injury in 2013 when a backup dancer alleged she accidentally hit her during a rehearsal and never paid her medical bills.
After reportedly practicing for 30 minutes for her “Work B—-” music video, dancer Dawn Noel Pignuola received an accidental blow to her face from Spears, reportedly breaking her nose. Spears’ team allegedly agreed to pay Pignuola’s medical bills but never did. All told, Pignuola sued for “serious physical and emotional damages including disfigurement to her nose as well as severe emotional distress and anxiety,” per E! News.
In September 2014, the case was dismissed.
Lindsay Lohan
Lindsay Lohan had her share of bad publicity throughout the height of her fame in the 2000s, but a car crash in 2012 landed the “Mean Girls” star in court for a personal injury lawsuit.
In 2013, a truck driver named James Johnson sued the actor for the physical and mental injuries he suffered after she allegedly slammed her Porsche 911S into the back of his 18-wheeler on California’s famed Pacific Coast Highway. Lohan reportedly told officers she wasn’t behind the wheel at the time of the crash, but officers found during an investigation that she, in fact, was.
Then-Lt. Mitch McCann, media relations officer for Beverly Hills police department, said during a press conference that authorities found narcotics at the scene. Additionally, Johnson named Lohan’s production company, Crossheart Productions, in the lawsuit for providing her with the vehicle, alleging they knew she was unfit to drive. Johnson and Lohan settled out of court for an undisclosed amount in 2014.
Dr. Phil
In 2011, Phil McGraw, better known as television psychologist Dr. Phil, was embroiled in a personal injury suit stemming from a 2009 dog bite injury. Janet Harris, a former close friend and frequent guest on “Dr. Phil,” alleged McGraw’s dog—a Korean Jindo named Maggie—bit her. Instead of taking Harris to the hospital, McGraw reportedly got antibiotics from a nurse friend, which Harris claimed was done to not draw attention to the incident.
The woman maintained that improper treatment led to her infection, which she claimed resulted in hand tremors and permanent hearing loss. McGraw’s attorneys pushed to dismiss the lawsuit due to Harris having signed an arbitration agreement. Because there’s no information available on the lawsuit’s outcome, it was likely settled out of court.
Chris Brown
Nobody likes having their photo taken without their permission, least of all celebrities at the hands of the paparazzi. That was clear when one photographer triggered Chris Brown’s ire in March 2009 after snapping a photo of the singer playing basketball at an LA Fitness gym in Universal City, California.
The plaintiff, paparazzo Robert Rosen, a confirmed gym member, was allegedly chased and assaulted by Brown’s bodyguards after snapping the image. Two months after the alleged altercation, Rosen sued Brown for “assault and battery, emotional distress and negligence,” The Hollywood Reporter reported. The incident occurred shortly after Brown’s February 2009 arrest for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna ahead of the Grammys that year. By late 2010, it was reported that Rosen and Brown had settled out of court.
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Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan was not behind the wheel in the crash that led to his personal injury lawsuit, but the wrestling icon and reality TV star came under fire for a tragic auto accident nevertheless.
In 2007, Hulk’s then-17-year-old son, Nick Hogan, lost control of his car while speeding and street-racing another friend in Clearwater, Florida, and crashed into a palm tree. Nick’s passenger and friend John Graziano, then 22, wasn’t wearing a seatbelt during the accident and was left critically injured and semi-conscious and required 24-hour medical care.
The Graziano family sued Hulk, holding him liable for the accident as the underage driver’s parent. In 2008, Nick was sentenced to eight months in jail for reckless driving. Ultimately, the parties settled the suit out of court, with the Grazianos recouping their legal fees and an additional $1.5 million to care for their son.
Graziano was released from the hospital two years after the crash, in September 2009.
Rick Springfield
One of the more bizarre celebrity personal injury suits is the “butt injury” heard ’round the world involving ’80s pop icon Rick Springfield.
In 2004, plaintiff Vicki Calcagno was attending a Springfield concert in Syracuse, New York, when the singer toppled onto her and into the crowd. She alleged that his derriere, in particular, caused lasting injuries to her head, claiming that the fall resulted in “serious, disabling, and permanent” injury, per The Guardian. Calcagno first brought the suit forward in 2007, but then a mistrial occurred in 2013.
Ultimately, Springfield prevailed more than a decade later: A jury cleared him of any wrongdoing in a 2015 retrial.
Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin’s legal troubles have made headlines for years, including for his alleged role in the tragic death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” in 2021.
However, few remember the personal injury lawsuit he was slapped with in 2012, stemming from a physical altercation between the “30 Rock” actor and a New York Daily News photographer. While Baldwin was getting a marriage license at a New York City court with his now-wife Hilaria Baldwin, cameraman Marcus Santos allegedly got a little too close for the actor’s comfort, resulting in Santos allegedly getting socked in the chin.
It became a he-said-he-said situation, with pictures splashed across the internet. Santos claimed he was punched; Baldwin alleged he felt threatened by Santos’ proximity to him and his fiancée. Santos discussed the incident on “Good Morning America” in 2012, and Baldwin tweeted about the ordeal.
Though Santos claimed he and his lawyer were intent on seeking justice, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office ultimately decided not to prosecute.
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Woody Harrelson
In yet another paparazzi-related incident, Woody Harrelson found himself served after allegedly attacking a TMZ photographer in 2006. Two years later, the paparazzo, Josh Levine, sued the actor for $2.5 million.
Levine claimed that while taking his picture in Hollywood, the “Cheers” star began choking him before throwing his camera and telling his bodyguard (whom Levine also sued) to join in. Harrelson ended up countersuing for invasion of privacy, but in 2010, Levine and Harrelson reached an undisclosed settlement out of court, and Harrelson’s countersuit was dismissed.
The details of the case, however, were left out of the court records.
Story editing by Jaimie Etkin and Cynthia Rebolledo. Photo selection by Elizabeth Ciano. Copy editing by Paris Close.
