All About Car Accidents and Face Injuries
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Facial injuries are a typical example of physical harm sustained by victims of car accidents. If you’re involved in a severe car accident, you face a risk of severe facial injury even when buckled up and the car is equipped with airbags.
In addition to short-term effects like missing work, some facial injuries cause permanent disfigurement. As a result, your self-esteem can take a dive, affecting your relationships and enjoyment of life.
Car accident victims who sustain facial injuries deserve compensation for the losses they endure because of the physical harm.
Consult a trusted Atlanta car accident attorney to learn more about your rights and ways to pursue compensation for car accidents and face injuries.
Common Types of Face Injuries
Here are the common types of facial injuries sustained by victims of car accidents:
Facial Fractures
A facial fracture is a form of broken bones in your face. Facial fractures can affect any part of the face and distort its appearance and function. In other instances, a severe facial fracture can cause leakage of cerebral fluid that surrounds the brain.
Here are a few examples of facial fractures:
- Broken Jaw: A fractured jaw hinders one’s ability to eat, chew, swallow, or speak.
- LeFort I Fracture: It is a broken jaw in the middle face that occurs in a horizontal line above the teeth and beneath the face
- LeFort II Fracture: This is an additional example of a fracture in the middle face that can affect one or both sides of the face. The cracks in the facial bones extend from the lower edge of the eye socket along the bridge of the nose downward through the cheekbone into the upper jaw behind the upper teeth.
- Broken eye sockets may include an orbital floor fracture or an orbital floor fracture.
Symptoms of Facial Fracture
The symptom of a facial fracture depends on the location of the injury.
General symptoms of facial fractures include:
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Facial numbness
- Pain or tenderness
- Disfigurement
Symptoms of a broken bone include:
- Nosebleeds
- Problems breathing through your nose
If you have a fractured eye socket, you’re likely to experience:
- Double vision
- Blurred vision
- Sunken eyeballs
- Difficulty moving your eyes back, forth, up, and down
Facial Soft Injuries
Facial soft injuries are not as severe as facial fractures.
Here are typical examples of facial soft injuries sustained by victims of car accidents:
- Eye injuries
- Scrapes and cuts to the face
- Torn scalp or skin that enhances the risk of bleeding, scarring, and infection.
- Facial burns due to exposure to heat, cold, or chemicals
- Tongue laceration is likely to impair a person’s ability to speak, eat, or swallow
- Damage to salivary glands: Over 100 glands in the mouth are responsible for keeping it moist while eating and speaking.
Dislocated Jaw
A dislocated jaw occurs when the lower end moves out of its normal position. It may heal but cause other problems in the future. The lower part of the jaw is connected by joints in front of each other, called temporomandibular joints (TMJ).
A dislocated jaw occurs when the lower section of the jaw is pulled from one or both of the TMJs.
The main symptoms of a dislocated jaw include:
- Drooling
- Difficulty speaking
- Inability to move the jaw or close the mouth properly
- Your teeth fail to line up properly
Is it Possible to Sue Someone for a Facial Injury?
You have the right to compensation if you sustain an injury in a car accident caused by someone else’s fault. You must file an insurance claim against the at-fault party’s insurer.
In most cases, the at-fault party’s insurer may table a low settlement offer that barely covers your losses. In other instances, the at-fault party may blame you for the accident, affecting your ability to obtain compensation.
You can file a personal injury lawsuit when the above circumstances arise. A personal injury lawsuit is an opportunity to solve the dispute in a court of law. A judge or jury can issue an order that compels the at-fault party to compensate you.
You must prove that the at-fault party’s negligent actions contributed to the car accident and the subsequent facial injuries. Therefore, the chances of succeeding in a lawsuit lie on the strength of your evidence.
An experienced car accident attorney can advise on an ideal strategy that can yield a positive outcome in the lawsuit.
What Kind of Compensation Can You Get from a Face Injury Caused by a Car Accident?
In a facial injury claim, a victim can obtain compensation to recover losses and injuries suffered because of the defendant’s wrongful conduct or negligence.
A facial injury victim can the following damages:
- Economic damages
- Non-economic damages
- Punitive damages
Economic Damages
Economic damages represent the victim’s financial damages related to the car accident, including anticipated losses.
Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages and benefits
- Out-of-pocket expenses
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate a facial injury victim for the intangible losses resulting from the accident. You can obtain different types of non-economic damages depending on the facts and circumstances of your injury.
You may be entitled to economic damages if the events leading to the accident were traumatic. Finding out that you’ve suffered a permanent face disfigurement can trigger mental health issues like depression.
Here is a list of other non-economic damages you can obtain:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent impairment
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, are awarded to deter defendants and others from engaging in similar conduct that led to the accident.
Get Legal Help From a Trusted Atlanta Car Accident Attorney
You deserve compensation for your losses if you’ve sustained a facial injury in a car accident caused by the actions of a negligent party. An experienced car accident attorney can demonstrate the extent of an injury and protect your right to compensation.
Spaulding Injury Law has decades of experience and an impressive success rate representing injured victims. Contact us online or at (770) 744-0890 for a free case evaluation.
When you become our client at Spaulding Injury Law, you’ll be represented by a thoroughly experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney like Theodore A. Spaulding. For over 15 years, Mr. Spaulding has helped victims of negligence across the state of Georgia resolve personal injury cases, and he’s received a remarkable number of awards and honors from the legal community recognizing his commitment to clients and to the metro-Atlanta area.
Mr. Spaulding has been named one of the Top 100 trial lawyers in Georgia by the National Trial Lawyers for six successive years.
He is honored as a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum ® by the Top Trial Lawyers in America ®.
Charter Member of the Distinguished Justice Advocates.
Member of the Atlanta Bar Association.