The purpose of his page is to look at the trial and settlement compensation payouts in cases where a scar, specifically a facial scar, is a primary injury in dog bite and car accident cases.
From a legal settlement valuation standpoint, no two scars are the same. Even identical scars are not the same. The settlement value of a scar on an 85-year-old man will be different from the value of the same scar on a 24-year-old woman.
Here are the significant factors in determining the settlement amounts in these injury claims:
- Age: The younger you are, the greater the value of the case
- Permanency: If the scar can be removed with ease by a plastic surgeon, that will decrease the compensation payout. Conversely, a permanent scar will have much greater value.
- Gender: Juries, lawyers, and insurance companies are sometimes sexist. Whether this is right or wrong is not the issue. It is the way it is. So it impacts the value of the case. Women get more money in scar cases than men do.
- Marital Status: Again unfair. But juries are going to give more money to someone who has not yet found a spouse.
- Location: The more visible the scar, the greater the value of the claim will be to the insurance company and the jury.
- Severity: Self-explanatory.
A facial scar on a child is generally worth more than the same scar on an adult. A good deal of research has been conducted looking at long-term consequences of facial disfigurement on the emotional, social, and even financial, as we will talk about in a second, well being of children. There are even studies that show that children with scars from acne have diminished employability. In our looks-obsessed culture, job interviewers correlate attractiveness with competency and skill.
Given this prejudice, are their other damages available in facial scarring claims beyond pain and suffering? If you have or expect to go into a career that emphasizes a significant degree of public contact and face-to-face interaction, that has an impact on compensation payouts. Vocational rehabilitation experts can calculate the expected loss of earning capacity you can expect from the disfigurement.
Let's also talk for a second about surgical scar revisions, particularly those that have not been done at the time of settlement. Surgical scar revision does not guarantee that the scar will be significantly improved. Many scars can never be able to be completely removed. Sometimes, the stigmata of the scarring and injury will remain after surgery.
Hopefully, after reading all of this, you understand that there is no per stitch scar compensation calculator. Permanent scar compensation will always be based on the specific facts of the claim.
There was data published a few years back that the median settlement and verdict in facial scare cases is $20,000 in Maryland and $32,000 in Virginia.
This compensation statistic is pretty much useless. Our lawyers don't keep our law firm's average settlement for facial scarring is multitudes higher. We cannot remember ever settling a case with a facial scar that was not about the median result in Maryland.
Here are some sample cases to look at and compare to your case. Keep in mind these cases were selected very much at random, and you can't necessarily glean much from them. Still, our lawyers think they are helpful and help people better understand what these cases are worth.
- Get help figuring out the range of values for a claim like yours
- Cosmetic surgery malpractice claims
- Get verdict and settlements for concussions and headaches, two conditions that often travel with facial scarring
- Beauty salons are common venues for facial scarring claims
Whether the insurance company will cover a facial scar depends on the insurance policy and the extent of the scar on your face. Insurance will sometimes cover facial scarring if the scar significantly alters the victim's appearance. But some insurance companies view facial scars -even permanent disfigurement - as a cosmetic procedure that is not covered.
The typical settlement value of an injury resulting in significant facial scarring is between $40,000 to $150,000. However, personal injury lawsuits involving very severe, disfiguring facial scarring can have much higher settlement amounts.
The single most important factor driving how much a facial scar is worth in a lawsuit is the extent and severity of the scarring. Cases involving major scarring that totally disfigures the victim’s facial appearance will be worth much more than cases involving minor scarring. Here are some additional factors that determine the value of these cases:
- Age: the younger the victim is, the greater the value of the case.
- Permanency: if the scarring is permanent and cannot be surgically improved the case will have a much higher value.
- Gender: female victims tend to get higher awards for facial scarring compared to males
- Location: a scar in the center of your face has great value than a scar on the side of your face (or your lip, which usually masks the scar).
- Mitigation: settlement amount and jury awards are higher when the victim has exhausted efforts to reduce the scarring.
Yes. If the facial scar was caused by someone else’s negligent conduct (e.g., a car accident where the other driver was at fault) then you can sue that person and hold them liable for the costs associated with the facial scar.
If you got a scar on the job, you can bring a claim but a workers' compensation settlement is likely to provide less compensation than a civil claim.
If you have facial scars and other injuries, you need the best possible lawyer to help you get what you deserve. As you can see, the value of facial scar injury cases vary wildly, and one of the reason is the quality of the victim's legal counsel.
Our dog bite and car accident lawyers have handled many of these cases, and we know how to fight to get as much money as we possibly can in these cases. Call our Baltimore-based law firm at 800-553-8082 or get a free claim evaluation online.