While there are many debilitating injuries that can occur in car accidents, few can be as devastating to your physical appearance as facial injuries. These injuries can cause permanent scarring and disfigurement, which can take a heavy psychological toll.
Our experienced South Bend car accident lawyers discuss car accident face injuries, including the common types, why they occur, and potential long-term complications.
If your face or any other body parts were seriously injured in a South Bend crash, we may be able to help you seek compensation to cover past and future medical treatment, lost wages and more.
No upfront fees or costs. Call today for legal assistance: (574) 444-0741.
Common Causes of Car Accident Face Injuries
There are many ways you could suffer a facial injury during a car crash. For example, your face could hit the airbag in such a way that you suffer bruising or burns. Your face could also hit the steering wheel or dashboard.
You could also suffer facial injuries if:
- The windshield or window on the driver’s side of the car cracks, and your face hits the cracked section of the window or windshield
- You are ejected from the vehicle and hit your face on the windshield or pavement
- A projectile breaks through the windshield and strikes you in the face
- Something inside your car gets launched at your face
- There is a fire or explosion that causes burn injuries to your face
Facial Injuries That Can Happen During a Crash
These are some of the car accident face injuries that often occur:
Fractures
Your face contains 14 bones that protect your oral and nasal cavities. While these bones are not easily broken, a car crash is a traumatic event. The force that is generated could easily break one or more of the bones in your face, this could include fractures of the:
- Nasal bone
- Upper or lower jaw
- Cheekbones
- Eye sockets
- Zygomatic bones
- Palatine bones
- Mandible
Eye Injuries
One or both of your eyes could get pierced by a sharp piece of debris, which could cause damage to your retinal nerves. This could result in partial or total blindness.
Bruising, Cuts or Abrasions
Cuts, bruises and abrasions often accompany broken bones. Unfortunately, your face may never look the same as it did before the crash. This is particularly true if you suffer a severe laceration. These injuries could cause long-term damage to the nerves, connective tissue and muscles in your face.
Soft-Tissue Injuries
Your bones are protected and cushioned by a variety of ligaments, cartilage, tendons and muscles. These soft tissues could be damaged if you get hit hard enough in the face, particularly if a bone in your face breaks.
Burn Injuries
If there is a fire or explosion during or after the crash, you could suffer severe burns to your face. This may require skin grafts.
Signs You May Have a Traumatic Brain Injury
One of the biggest concerns after getting hit in the face during a crash is that you might have suffered a brain injury. Watch for these potential symptoms of a brain injury and if you experience any of them, you should seek medical care right away:
- Thin, clear liquid leaking from your nose or ears
- Feeling dizzy
- Blurry vision
- Sensitivity to light
- Nausea and vomiting
- Moving slower than usual
- Ringing in our ears
- Trouble concentrating or remembering things
- Slurring words
- Change in behavior
You may think you did not suffer a brain injury unless you lost consciousness, but that is not true.
Long-Term Complications of a Facial Injury
You may have a long road to recovery after suffering a facial injury in a South Bend car crash. However, while broken bones and soft tissue injuries are likely to heal in time, you may be left with permanent scarring and disfigurement of your face. For example, this could happen if you get burned or suffer a cut to your face.
Severe broken bones may never fully return to their pre-accident form. For example, you may have a crooked nose or your cheekbones may sink into your face. Damage like this can exact a heavy psychological toll on victims. Victims may suffer with depression and anxiety. They may also experience post-traumatic stress disorder.
Treatment For a Car Crash Facial Injury
Some facial injuries may heal over time. However, some crash victims need surgery. For example, you may need surgery to stop excessive bleeding. If you suffer compound fractures, doctors may need to do reconstructive surgery. If your injuries affect your ability to breathe, doctors may need to operate right away. Severe cuts and lacerations will probably require stitches.
If you suffer severe damage to your face that results in permanent disfigurement or scarring, you may want to get cosmetic surgery to repair the damage.
Seeking Compensation For a Car Accident Face Injury
If the crash was caused by another driver’s negligence, you have the right to seek compensation for injuries and damages from that driver’s insurance policy. This may include compensation for the psychological toll of your injuries and damages.
However, recovering full compensation after a crash, particularly a crash that results in long-term non-economic damages, can be a challenge. You need help from an experienced lawyer with a history of securing results.
While it may seem obvious your crash was caused by negligence, it is up to you and your lawyer to prove it. You must also connect your injuries to the crash and determine the value of all your damages. Our lawyers have been taking on car crash cases for decades. We know the challenges involved and how to build strong cases.
Contact Pfeifer, Morgan and Stesiak To Discuss Your Crash
While facial injuries may heal, your physical appearance might never be the same. If these injuries occurred in a car crash, the other driver may be liable. That means you may be able to seek compensation for the cost of medical treatment and non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Our licensed attorneys are ready to help you explore your legal options, and there are no upfront costs with our services. That means we do not get paid unless you get paid.
Have legal questions? Call Pfeifer, Morgan and Stesiak at: (574) 444-0741.
