Facial scar injuries can range in severity from a minor blemish on the skin to severe disfigurement of the facial features. Even when the pain from the injury has diminished, a facial scar injury can
act as a constant reminder of the trauma felt when the injury happened. Importantly, if you’ve suffered a facial scar because of the negligence of somebody else, you may be eligible to file a facial scar compensation claim. Therefore, this guide will explain when you could be compensated and how much compensation for a facial scar you could be awarded.
Our team is ready to help if you do decide to take action. Initially, they’ll review your case with you during a no-obligation telephone consultation. During your call, free advice on your chances of being compensated for facial scarring will be given and your next steps will be considered. If a claim appears viable, we’ll ask one of our personal injury solicitors to step in. Should they off to take you on as a client, they’ll work on a No Win No Fee basis meaning you’ll only pay for their work if compensation is paid.
To get started right away, please call our team on 0800 6524 881. Alternatively, please read on to learn more about making a compensation claim for a facial scar.
Table of contents
- Am I Eligible To Make A Facial Scar Compensation Claim?
- Common Causes Of Facial Scar Compensation Claims
- Claiming Compensation For Facial Scars Caused By Criminal Activity
- How Much Compensation Will I Get For Facial Scarring?
- Facial Scar Compensation Amounts
- Evidence To Support A Facial Scar Compensation Claim
- Time Limits For Claiming Facial Scarring Compensation
- Starting A Facial Scar Compensation Claim
Am I Eligible To Make A Facial Scar Compensation Claim?
Our solicitors will always try to help if they believe your claim has a realistic chance of success. Before taking on any facial scar compensation claims, they will always check whether:
- The defendant had a legal duty of care towards you; and
- They breached their duty of care through an act of negligence; and
- As a result, an accident or incident happened and left you with a facial scar.
There are many reasons why you might be owed a duty of care. For example, your employer will have a duty to take reasonable steps to keep you safe at work. Similarly, all drivers have a duty to drive as safely as possible to try and prevent road accidents. Your solicitor will check whether a duty of care can be established so you shouldn’t worry too much about this.
Instead, you could help support your claim by providing our solicitors with evidence to prove how your facial scar happened and the extent of the scarring. We’ll show you how this can be achieved later on in this guide.
Common Causes Of Facial Scar Compensation Claims
As explained above, you can only claim compensation for a facial scar if the injury was caused by somebody else’s negligence. To give you an idea of what that means, we’ve added a list of common causes of facial scar compensation claims below:
- If you suffered cuts and lacerations to your face in a car crash caused by somebody else.
- Where your face was cut by faulty machinery in a workplace accident.
- If staff in a coffee shop spilt a hot drink over your face causing burns and scarring because they were carrying too much.
- Where you suffered avoidable facial scars because of medical negligence.
- Where you sustained chemical burns to the face because of a lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) at work.
- If you were left with a facial scar after a dog bite.
- If you cut your face during a fall caused by a slippery floor without warning signs.
- If you suffered burns on the face resulting in scarring from laser hair removal carried out by a negligent beautician.
If you believe you have a valid facial scar compensation claim and would like one of our solicitors to represent you, please call us for free legal advice today.
Claiming Compensation For Facial Scars Caused By Criminal Activity
In the list above we didn’t mention facial scars caused by criminals. That’s because claims based on violent crimes are usually handled differently. If you have been left with facial scars following a knife crime or acid attack, you could be compensated through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
Unlike personal injury claims, CICA claims can be made even if you don’t know who attacked you. That means you could be compensated if the criminal was never caught, charged, or prosecuted. Please let us know if you’re interested in claiming through the CICA scheme as we could help with that.
How Much Compensation Will I Get For Facial Scarring?
There is no one set amount that is awarded for facial scarring. Compensation payouts are calculated based on general damages (pain and suffering, loss of amenity) and special damages (financial losses/expenses). You can read more about general and special damages here.
While no two facial scar claims are exactly the same, in principle, you could be compensated for:
- Physical pain and suffering caused by your injuries.
- Any psychological harm your facial scar has caused such as embarrassment, anxiety, depression and stress.
- Loss of income.
- Any impact your injuries and scars have had on your social life, family activities and hobbies (loss of amenity).
- Future loss of income. For example, if you’re an actor or model and your scar will reduce your capacity to earn in the long term.
- The cost of private plastic surgery and other remedial treatment.
- Care costs if you needed somebody else to support you while you were recovering.
- Travel expenses relating to hospital appointments, for example.
Our solicitors will always work hard to try and secure the most compensation possible by reviewing your claim with you in detail before it’s filed with the defendant.
Facial Scar Compensation Amounts
- Very severe facial scarring – £36,340 to £118,790.
- Less severe facial scarring – £21,920 to £59,090.
- Significant facial scarring – £11,120 to £36,720.
- Less significant facial scarring – £4,820 to £16,770.
- Minor facial scarring – £2,080 to £4,310.
These are the amounts that could be awarded for facial scarring in a personal injury claim. Criminal injury claims have a different tariff that will be explained by your solicitor if your claim is accepted.
Any award made in a successful claim will typically be based primarily on the severity of your injuries. Therefore, a medical report will usually be needed from an independent specialist. Your solicitor will look to book an appointment for you (usually locally). After your meeting, all parties in the claim will be sent a report to explain how your facial scars have affected you and if they will continue to do so in the future.
Evidence To Support A Facial Scar Compensation Claim
If you’re to win your claim for facial scars, it is vital that you can show how your accident happened, who caused it, and how severe your injuries were. Therefore, it’s a good idea to collect as much evidence as possible. This could include:
- Photographs of the accident scene. If possible, you should take these on your phone in the moments straight after the accident took place. You should also take pictures of your injuries and subsequent facial scarring throughout your recovery.
- Medical records from the GP surgery or hospital that treated you. These will show the initial injuries you sustained. You could also use records relating to any plastic surgery that was needed to address your facial scar.
- Video footage of the accident taking place. This could include CCTV or dashcam footage. Act quickly here as data can be deleted quite quickly.
- Accident report forms to help prove when and where the incident/accident took place.
- Financial records to show any costs you’ve incurred as a direct result of your accident.
To help you recall how you’ve been affected by your facial scars, it might also be a good idea to write your own statement of what happened as soon as possible after you sustained your injuries.
Time Limits For Claiming Facial Scarring Compensation
To claim compensation for facial scarring, you will need to act within the 3-year time limit. In most cases, this will start from the date of the accident that caused your injuries. One exception to this is if you claim through the CICA scheme where a 2-year limitation period exists.
While you do have quite some time to take action if you were injured recently, we would suggest that you start your claim sooner rather than later. By taking action early, you should find it easier to recall how you were injured and it will also be easier to gather evidence to support your claim.
Starting A Facial Scar Compensation Claim
If you’ve decided to seek damages for a facial scar injury, the quickest way to begin right now is to call our advice centre on 0800 6524 881. A claims advisor will review your facial scar compensation claim for free and explain your options during your initial consultation.
If one of our solicitors agrees to take your case on, they’ll work for you on a No Win No Fee basis, explained here.
Our live chat service is open 24 hours a day so please get in touch if you have any further questions on making a facial scar compensation claim.
