Halifax Car Accident Lawyers Discusses Facial Injuries and Scarring
A permanent and serious facial injury or scar can result from an accident caused someone else’s negligence, including from a motor vehicle accident, motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical procedure gone wrong or a chemical burn in the workplace.
A permanent and serious facial injury or scar can result from an accident caused someone else’s negligence, including from a motor vehicle accident, motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrian accident, a slip and fall, medical procedure gone wrong or a chemical burn in the workplace.
Common Facial Injuries
- Facial lacerations and fractures. If you have a facial laceration, a CT scan or x-ray may be done to determine if there is a fracture or other injuries. If surgery is not required, the laceration is stitched up. You will be referred to a plastic surgeon thereafter to treat the scarring after the wound heals. Scars are often treated through lasers, surgery, cryotherapy or steroid injections and silicon scar gel.
- Nasal fracture. If you have a nasal fracture, the doctor will stem the blood flow right away. An x-ray or CT scan may be necessary, although in many cases it isn’t. If resetting is required, you doctor may ask you to return 2-3 days later when the injury is easier to view, after the swelling has gone down, after which closed reduction, rhinoplasty or septorhinoplasty surgery are performed. If the nose does not look right after it heals or you have difficulty breathing, you may need reconstructive nose surgery.
- Dislocated jaw. If you have a dislocation of the jaw, it will need to be manipulated back into the correct position at the hospital and surgical intervention may be required to set the temporomandibular joints in the normal position. The jaw may be bandaged or wired shut during recovery.
- Jaw fracture or break. A jaw fracture or break will likely require surgical intervention, depending on the extent of the injury. Clean breaks may heal on their own but multiple fractures and displaced breaks are likely to require surgical repair. Again, recovery can entail bandaging or wiring the jaw shut.
- Midfacial fracture. Radiographic imaging is conducted before any intraoral manipulation. Fractures with minimal or no displacement can heal spontaneously.
- Ocular injuries. Impairment, loss of eyesight, double vision and abnormal appearance can occur in one or both eyes. Damage to the cornea, iris, pupil, lens, retina or the optical nerve is assessed by an ophthalmologist to determine if surgical repair is possible.
- Post burn scars and contractures. Skin deformities and shortening of the muscles, tendons or ligaments can be minimized by various physical therapy measure and plastic surgery but not eliminated. They can cause deeper internal damage, result in constant pain and affect nerve and muscle function. In some cases, improvements may be made through laser surgery or skin grafts.
Compensation in Nova Scotia Canada
You may be able to obtain compensation through a personal injury case if you incurred a serious facial injury or scar resulting in a permanent serious physical impairment or disfigurement. Compensation for a facial injury or scar is awarded in accordance with the severity and visibility of the injury, your age and sex, its impact on your livelihood and its impact on your quality of life, including your self-esteem. If you have had a facial injury or scarring from an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, contact the Halifax injury lawyers at CLG Injury Law.
