- Car, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian accidents.
- Thermal burns from explosions, fires in homes or places of employment.
- Burns from chemicals or alkalis that are found in the workplace.
- Dog attacks and bites, especially on children.
Scar Types
There are many different types of scarring. Here are four of the types of scars that are commonly seen:
- Keloid scars that occur when the body produces excessive collagen during the healing process. Keloid scars can continue to grow, even after the scar is completely healed.
- Hypertrophic scars that are also a result of excessive collagen. They look like red bumps on the skin.
- Atrophic scars. These happen when the tissue under the skin is lost. Atrophic scars can be deep and pitted.
- Contracture scars. These are ordinarily flat scars from burns. During the healing process, the skin becomes tight and it’s ability to move becomes restricted. Depending on how deep the burn is, muscles and nerves might also be affected.
Treating Facial Scars
There are a variety of ways to treat facial scarring. Here are some of the methods that are generally accepted with burn treatment professionals:
- Prescription creams. These contain antihistamines to control itching during the healing process along with corticosteroids that help reduce scarring.
- Corticosteroid injections. These are often used on keloid and hypertrophic scarring. Scars are reduced.
- Dermabrasion. Think of sanding down a scar, but with a wire brush. New and healthy skin develops over the abraded skin.
- Skin grafting when skin is taken from one part of the victim’s body and transplanted onto an affected area.
Surgery for Facial Scarring
If there is little or no improvement with conservative facial scar treatment, plastic surgery, also known as scar reduction surgery might be performed to improve the victim’s appearance and condition. Doctors will recommend waiting. That way they might be able to determine how much the scar has changed over time. The primary objective of plastic surgery is to make the affected area look more natural and less noticeable. It might also be used for purposes of releasing a tight scar that impairs movement because of its proximity to a joint. Take notice that keloid and hypertrophic scars can return and be even larger. There appears to be an unexplained genetic basis for that.
Damages in Facial Injury Claims
The value of facial scar injury claims can vary widely. Even after surgery, facial scars are likely to be visible and permanent. Much depends on the victim’s gender, age and lifestyle. For example, a scar might be the same size at the same location of two different people. One is a young single female with an active social life, while the other is a middle-aged married man with a sedentary job and lifestyle. The young woman’s injury is likely to be considerably more valuable than the middle-aged man’s. Along with the physical pain and suffering, facial scarring and disfigurement are likely to cause issues involving self-esteem and depression. The condition might especially impact people who are involved in sales, store clerks and others who interact with the public as part of their livelihood. Here are the types of damages that must be considered in a facial injury case:
- Past, ongoing and future medical care and treatment.
- Lost earnings while recovering along with diminished earning capacity in the future.
- Pain and suffering.
- Diminished quality of life.
- Disfigurement and emotional harm.
- Permanency.
