If you suffered disfigurement after being involved in a car accident, you may be able to collect compensation for your damages. To learn more and obtain legal counsel, reach out to a knowledgeable San Mateo County, California car accident lawyer today.
What is Disfigurement?
Disfigurement is a permanent deformity or change in a person’s physical appearance. In terms of personal injury law, disfigurement often arises after catastrophic injuries caused by car accidents, fires, falls, sports accidents, animal attacks, amputations, surgical procedures, and more.
Disfigurement can include scars, burns, loss of limbs, facial injuries, or any other physical changes that alter the way a person looks.
How Does Disfigurement Impact a Victim?
Disfigurement can result in both physical and emotional repercussions for the individual. Physically, the victim may sustain chronic pain, limited mobility, and the need for ongoing treatment. They may have to undergo reconstructive surgery, skin grafts, intensive physical therapy, and more.
The emotional damages associated with disfigurement can be even more severe. Sustaining a permanent change to your physical appearance can be devastating psychologically. Many people who are disfigured experience feelings of shame, depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. They may isolate themselves, which only further contributes to their poor mental health and impacts social interactions, relationships, and even their career.
Can I Collect Compensation for Disfigurement After a Car Accident?
As established, disfigurement can have profound physical and mental effects on a victim. If you suffered disfigurement as a result of a car accident caused by another person, you may be able to collect compensation for your damages.
You can certainly collect compensation for your financial losses and medical expenses associated with the injury. This includes hospital stays, surgeries, medication, physical therapy, at-home care, lost wages, property damage, and more. However, disfigurement itself is considered a non-economic damage.
Non-economic damages are losses that do not have a financial impact on a victim but still affect them in other ways. Because of the mental and emotional toll disfigurement can take on a person and its lack of monetary value, it is considered a type of non-economic damage. You can collect compensation for the physical pain you experienced, the development of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental disorders, the loss of enjoyment you experience from limited mobility, and more.
In a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim, in order to collect compensation for disfigurement, you must be able to prove the following.
- Your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence or actions
- The injury caused lasting or permanent physical changes
- The disfigurement has impacted your life in significant ways
When determining the amount of compensation to award, a court will consider a variety of factors including the location and severity of the disfigurement, the victim’s age and occupation, the costs of medical treatments and future care, testimony from medical and mental health experts, witness statements, and the extent to which the victim is hindered by the disfigurement.
For more information and legal representation, contact a skilled personal injury lawyer today.