Recovering Damages for Face and Head Injuries in Newcastle, OK
Few injury categories combine physical, emotional, and identity damage like facial injuries. The face is the most visible part of a person, the primary medium of human connection. Damage to the face extends into identity, relationships, work, and self-perception. An attorney familiar with these complex cases knows how to properly value the full scope of harm facial injuries cause.
What Makes Facial Injuries Distinctive
The Face Is Anatomically Complex
Facial anatomy is uniquely intricate.
In a small area, the face contains:
- Complex bone structure
- Vascularized soft tissues
- Major sensory organs
- Oral and dental tissues
- Facial nerve systems
- Glands and ducts
- Visible skin
Healing Properties of Facial Tissue
Healing in the face is distinctive. Vascular supply supports healing though it can create distinctive scarring.
Visibility and Permanence
Scarring on the face is always visible. Visibility means lasting impact.
Identity and Self-Perception
The face is connected to identity in ways other body parts aren’t. Facial damage affects self-perception.
Categories of Facial Injuries
Facial Fractures
Fractures of facial structures.
Orbital Fractures
Fractures of the bones surrounding the eye. Can cause eye misalignment, double vision, sunken eye appearance, and potential vision problems.
Nasal Fractures
Broken nose are extremely common. Affect breathing and appearance.
Zygomatic Fractures
Fractures of the zygoma can cause facial asymmetry.
Maxillary Fractures
Upper jaw fractures. Le Fort fractures are particularly serious.
Mandibular Fractures
Broken jaw impact multiple functions.
Frontal Bone Fractures
Forehead fractures can be associated with serious head injury.
Soft Tissue Injuries
Open wounds account for many facial injury cases. Minor cuts create lasting marks.
Eye Injuries
Eye trauma can produce temporary or permanent vision loss. Penetrating eye injuries may result in enucleation.
Dental and Mouth Injuries
Tooth loss, broken or chipped teeth, and injuries to oral tissues frequently accompany facial trauma.
Nerve Damage
Facial nerve injuries can cause loss of facial expression. Permanent facial paralysis causes significant lifelong impact.
Burns and Scarring
Thermal injuries to facial tissue cause significant scarring.
Skull Fractures
Though distinct from facial fractures, skull fractures often accompany facial injuries.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Facial trauma often involves traumatic brain injury, as the head accelerates with the facial impact.
Common Causes of Facial Injuries
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Car, truck, and motorcycle crashes produce many facial injury claims. Steering wheel impacts all produce characteristic facial injuries.
Falls
Fall accidents produce facial impacts. Forward landings result in facial injuries to the front of the face.
Workplace Accidents
Workplace incidents can cause facial injuries from falling objects, equipment failures, or other workplace hazards.
Assault and Violence
Physical assault can cause significant facial injuries.
Dog Bites
Facial dog bites, particularly for children. Pediatric dog bite cases involving the face produce devastating outcomes.
Sports and Recreation Injuries
Sports activities can produce facial injuries.
Medical Negligence
Medical procedures gone wrong can cause iatrogenic facial damage.
Defective Products
Defective products can cause distinctive facial injury patterns.
The Damages Picture for Facial Injuries
Facial injuries support an unusually broad damages framework.
Medical and Surgical Costs
Facial injuries often require multiple specialists and surgeries:
- Emergency facial injury care
- Reconstructive surgery
- Cosmetic reconstruction
- Maxillofacial surgery for facial bone repair
- Prosthodontic treatment
- Ophthalmologic care for eye injuries
- ENT specialist care
- Neurological specialist care
Future Medical Care
Facial injuries often require multiple revision surgeries. Scar revision, dental work, and ongoing reconstructive needs can continue throughout the patient’s life.
Lost Wages and Diminished Earning Capacity
Various professions require professional appearance. Appearance-dependent careers can be career-ending.
Pain and Suffering
Facial pain can be severe and ongoing.
Disfigurement Damages
This is the distinctive facial injury damages category.
Lasting facial changes reaches far beyond the physical injury.
Loss of Enjoyment of Life
These injuries change basic life experiences.
Mental Health Damages
Facial injuries frequently cause severe psychological impact. Psychological aftermath are common after serious facial injuries.
Loss of Consortium
Facial injuries can profoundly affect intimate relationships.
Punitive Damages
For especially harmful incidents, punitive damages may be available.
Special Considerations for Children
Child victims of facial trauma require careful damages analysis.
Children’s faces are still developing impacts continuing facial development. Surgical interventions may need to be timed around growth.
Multiple revision surgeries over decades are common.
Effects on developing identity can be particularly profound.
How Damages Get Quantified
Medical and Reconstructive Surgeon Testimony
Treating physicians and surgeons document the full scope of treatment.
Plastic Surgery Cost Projections
Detailed projections of future plastic and reconstructive surgery project long-term costs.
Vocational Expert Testimony
Career impact experts quantify earning losses.
Mental Health Professional Testimony
Mental health experts document the psychological impact.
Before-and-After Photography
Visual evidence of the disfigurement provides compelling damages evidence.
Day-in-the-Life Documentation
Detailed documentation of how the injury affects daily life builds the loss of enjoyment of life case.
Common Insurance Defenses
“The Injury Wasn’t That Severe”
Severity challenges.
“Pre-Existing Conditions”
Prior facial issues are leveraged by defense. The aggravation rule applies.
“Cosmetic, Not Functional”
Defense argues purely cosmetic damage isn’t significant. Cosmetic damage is genuine damage.
“Reasonable Care Was Provided”
“Treatment was reasonable”.
“Comparative Fault”
“You contributed”.
Critical Steps After a Facial Injury
Get Immediate Specialist Care
Facial injuries require specialist medical care. Emergency facial trauma often requires specialty care.
Photograph the Injuries Throughout Treatment
Photographs over time provide compelling damages proof.
Photograph Before-Accident Appearance
Pre-accident photographs provide before-and-after comparison.
Track All Symptoms and Functional Limitations
Track functional impact, pain, and limitations.
Track Mental Health Impact
Record mental health effects.
Identify Witnesses
Witnesses to the underlying accident.
Get Medical Records Quickly
Comprehensive medical records provide essential evidence.
Don’t Accept Early Insurance Settlement Offers
Early offers come quickly. Early settlements often substantially undervalue these claims. The full damages picture takes time to emerge.
Attorney Costs
Counsel handling these cases earn fees only on recovery. Specialty expertise is essential and expensive reimbursed from the recovery.
Move Quickly
Facial injury cases benefit from prompt legal involvement. Contemporaneous injury tracking provides better evidence. OK’s statute of limitations continues running. Getting an attorney involved promptly positions the case for the substantial recovery these injuries warrant.