When a victim sustains visible injuries to the face in a car crash, it can leave more than a physical injury. Visible scarring and disfigurement on a person’s face can cause psychological harm, embarrassment and depression. It can also have a significant financial impact on both the victims and their families.
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If you have facial injuries that are significantly impacting your quality of life, we encourage you to speak to one of our Charleston car accident attorneys about your situation and potential legal options. Although compensation cannot change what has happened to you, it can help you get the medical care you need so you can continue to move forward with your recovery.
Schedule a free, no-risk consultation today: 1-844-RESULTS.
What Kinds of Facial Injuries Happen in Car Crashes?
A car accident can cause serious damage to facial bones, muscles, nerves and soft tissues. Below are some of the most common types of facial injuries caused by car crashes.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Cuts, bruises and burns across the face can result from broken glass or flying debris during a car accident. These injuries may range from minor scrapes to deep lacerations requiring plastic surgery. Even seemingly minor cuts on the face can leave permanent scars, affecting a victim’s appearance and emotional well-being.
Facial Fractures
The face contains 14 different bones that can break during trauma. Common fractures include orbital fractures, which affect the eye socket, and cheekbone fractures, which are more likely to happen in side-impact collisions.
Other types of fractures may include:
- Nasal bone breaks from direct impacts
- Cheekbone (zygomatic) fractures from side impacts
- Jaw (mandible) fractures that affect eating and speaking
- Upper jaw (maxilla) fractures requiring surgical repair
Dental Trauma
Dental trauma in a car accident typically happens when your head or mouth strikes an object or when the mouth abruptly closes due to the impact. For example, in a rear-end car accident, someone’s head or mouth can strike the steering wheel.
Dental injuries during a car accident could be:
- Broken or chipped teeth
- Knocked-out teeth requiring immediate care
- Fractured dental roots
- Damaged gums and soft tissue
- Jaw alignment problems affecting the victim’s bite
Eye Injuries Trauma
Eye injuries from a car crash could leave victims with blurry vision or vision loss. Eye injuries may occur if the victim is struck in the face with a direct impact, such as from airbag deployment or shattered glass. Serious eye injuries may include:
- Corneal scratches or tears
- Orbital bone damage
- Vision problems
- Detached retina
- Loss of eyesight
Nerve Damage
Facial injuries often involve some degree of nerve damage. The impact of a trauma may stretch, compress or even sever nerves. In a car accident, facial nerve damage happens when the impact forces the head or face against hard surfaces. Nerve damage may cause car crash victims to experience:
- Loss of facial movement
- Numbness or tingling
- Problems with facial expressions
- Difficulty eating or speaking
- Chronic pain
Common Causes of Facial Scarring and Disfigurement
During a car crash, multiple factors can lead to facial scarring and disfigurement. The impact of a collision can be severe enough to thrust a victim’s body and face against hard surfaces in the vehicle.
Facial scarring and disfigurement may occur in a car crash as a result of:
Flying Glass and Debris
Shattered windshields and windows send sharp glass fragments flying through the vehicle at high speeds. These fragments can slice deep into facial tissue, causing severe lacerations that often result in permanent scarring. Side-impact collisions particularly increase the risk of glass-related facial injuries when windows explode inward.
Airbag Deployment Impact
While airbags save lives, their explosive deployment can cause serious facial injuries. The intense force and heat from deploying airbags can burn the skin, cause chemical burns or create facial abrasions. High-speed deployment may also drive debris into facial tissue.
Dashboard and Steering Wheel Impact
Sudden deceleration can throw drivers and passengers forward onto hard surfaces, like the dashboard or steering wheel. The resulting impact can break or crush facial bones and create wounds that cause permanent disfigurement.
Ejection Injuries
When victims get thrown from vehicles, their faces may hit window glass, metal from the vehicle or scrape across pavement. Road rash from sliding across asphalt can remove layers of facial skin. Additionally, impact with objects during ejection can shatter facial bones and create deep tissue damage.
Secondary Collision Damage
After the initial impact, loose objects inside the car become dangerous projectiles. Cell phones, water bottles and other items could strike the face. These secondary impacts often cause significant tissue damage and scarring.
Metal and Frame Intrusion
Sharp metal edges can penetrate the passenger compartment when a vehicle’s frame collapses during impact. These twisted metal pieces can slice or puncture facial tissue, creating jagged wounds that are difficult to repair without visible scarring.
Burns and Chemical Exposure
Vehicle fires or chemical spills during crashes can cause severe facial burns. Thermal burns destroy tissue layers, while chemical burns from deployed airbags or leaking fluids can create permanent skin damage and discoloration.
How Much Compensation for Face Injury?
The amount of compensation you may receive for facial injury may vary depending on the factors and circumstances of your accident. However, insurance companies or courts may value your case depending on the expenses and damages you may incur.
- Medical Expenses: Emergency room treatment, surgery costs, dental work, future medical needs, etc.
- Lost Income and Earning Capacity: Facial injuries could mean you miss work, so you may receive compensation for loss of future earnings and loss of income due to recovery time.
- Pain and Suffering: This compensation can cover physical pain from injuries, emotional trauma, depression and anxiety.
What Factors Impact My Compensation?
Different factors can impact your compensation. Some reasons why some cases may be valued at different costs may include:
Injury Severity and Permanence
The more severe and permanent your facial injuries, the higher your potential compensation. Insurance companies and courts will examine numerous elements such as depth and visibility of scarring, number of facial bones broken and extent of soft tissue damage.
Medical Documentation
Your medical documentation will serve as viable evidence for your legal case. Detailed emergency room records, surgery reports and photos can strengthen your case. Your attorney can also work with expert medical professionals to prove how the car crash led to your injuries.
Liability and Fault
After a car crash, you must prove that the other party was at fault. It could affect your compensation if you are found to be partially at fault in a South Carolina car accident. For example, if you are 30 percent at fault and your compensation is $100,000, it will be reduced to $70,000.
Professional Impact
Facial injuries resulting from car accidents can significantly impact an individual’s career. For example, if a car crash victim has a job that requires frequent public appearances or being in front of a camera, such injuries could affect their livelihood. This situation may lead to compensation covering reduced earning capacity or necessitate career changes due to disfigurement.
Quality of Life Changes
Courts and insurance companies may consider how facial injuries affect your daily life. If you experience life changes such as social anxiety, loss of enjoyment in activities or changes in personal relationships, be sure to provide evidence of these impacts. Some evidence you may use includes daily journals and records of canceled events or missed gatherings.
Call Roden Law After Facial Scarring or Disfigured in a Car Accident
Facial injuries from a car crash can have a lasting physical, emotional and financial impact on your life. At Roden Law, our Charleston attorneys understand the challenges car crash victims may face, from dealing with insurance companies to documenting the full extent of their damages.
We are here to help you get the full compensation you deserve after a car crash. We do not charge any upfront costs to engage the services of our law firm. We only get paid if you do.
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