Some injuries are so severe that they cause permanent scarring and disfigurement that affects a person’s life. These can result in extensive physical pain, psychological damage, and economic harm to the injured individual. After a catastrophic injury caused by someone else’s negligence, it is extremely important that you speak with an experienced personal injury attorney about your rights and legal recourse. You may have a right to seek compensation from the negligent party.
Victims of accidents that cause disfigurement or scarring typically require extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and, in many cases, multiple surgeries. If not handled promptly and aggressively as a legal matter, the medical costs and losses suffered due to scarring and disfigurement can leave individuals swamped with medical debt.
In Kentucky, the personal injury attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you seek full and fair compensation if you have injuries that have caused extensive scarring or disfigurement. We can demand compensation from the parties responsible for your injuries. If your scarring and disfigurement occurred in a workplace accident, there are probably workers’ compensation benefits available to you.
At Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, we approach serious injury claims from all angles to ensure we are working to recover all the monetary assistance accident victims are due. We are thorough as we investigate the harm done to our clients. We are determined when negotiating with insurers or presenting personal injury claims in court. In more than 20 years of practice, our attorneys have recovered over $300 million for Kentucky residents struggling to overcome personal injuries.
Call us at (877) 809-5352 or reach out online as soon as possible to set up a free consultation with a Kentucky Courage personal injury lawyer. If you or a loved one is trying to move forward after suffering scarring or disfigurement, you will benefit from having legal representation to gather evidence, deal with the insurance adjusters, and hold the responsible parties financially accountable. Find out how our Kentucky Courage can help you get through this difficult time.
What Are Scarring and Disfigurement Injuries?
In a disfigurement claim, disfigurement is a permanent change to a person’s body, particularly by leaving visible scars or other loss detrimental to the person’s appearance or a person’s ability to work.
Scars, the fibrous collagen tissue that the body produces to heal an open wound, may appear flat, lumpy, or sunken and rarely match the individual’s skin color. The appearance of some scars improves over time or with specialized surgery or other forms of therapy (steroid injections, cryotherapy, pressure therapy). When scars are deep, widespread, or numerous, little can be done about the disfigurement they cause.
Disfigurement claims may also refer to the loss of body parts, including the amputation of limbs (arms, legs) or digits (fingers, toes), or the loss of an eye, ear, or lips in a serious accident.
Scarring and disfigurement can also cause physical inflexibility and loss of mobility, depending on where the damage occurs, and can dull nerve sensitivity.
In addition to physical injury, scarring or disfigurement can cause psychological injury to the victim and their loved ones, including emotional distress and damage to self-esteem. Many victims of visible disfigurement experience stigma and discrimination. Some victims of these catastrophic injuries develop anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Spouses or children of an individual who has suffered significant scarring or disfigurement may experience anxiety, depression, or PTSD because of their loss, as well.
Common Causes of Scarring and Disfigurement
Accidents and injuries that tend to cause extensive scarring and disfigurement include:
- Burn injuries from fire, steam, hot liquids, caustic chemicals, or explosions (such as mining accidents)
- Car accidents, including pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Dog mauling and other animal attacks
- Workplace accidents, particularly heavy machinery accidents that cause crush or tearing injuries
An individual who suffers an accident that is likely to lead to scars and disfiguring injuries, such as a car crash, will require emergency medical care and surgery followed by lengthy hospitalization. Some cases require multiple surgeries. If the patient is discharged from the hospital, they are likely to then be prescribed lengthy rehabilitation therapy.
Some survivors of injuries leading to scarring and disfigurement require adaptive devices to resume daily functions, such as wheelchairs or prosthetics. Some are bedridden, either at home or in long-term residential care (i.e., nursing homes).
What Are the Legal Rights of People with Scarring and Disfigurement?
Several things happen in a personal injury claim after an accident that has caused scarring and disfigurement. First, our law firm works to see that the unjustly injured recover compensation for the extensive financial losses they have incurred because of someone else’s negligence or recklessness. In addition to the accident victim being made whole financially, Kentucky law allows the injured party in a lawsuit to be compensated for their pain and suffering.
Under Kentucky personal injury law, there are four elements you must prove for a scarring and disfigurement lawsuit to be successful:
- Duty of Care – Most of the time, people have a responsibility to behave in a manner that is reasonable, and that ensures that those around them are not endangered. For example, drivers are expected to follow traffic laws designed to keep everyone on the road safe. In some cases, the duty of care is strict. For example, dog owners in Kentucky can be held responsible for the harm their animal does, even if the dog has never bitten anyone before.
- Breach of Duty – Failure to act in a reasonable manner toward another person is to have breached your duty of care. This is better known as acting carelessly or negligently. Proving that a person or an organization was negligent is often very difficult, and doing so requires the type of investigative work that an experienced personal injury attorney can do.
- Causation – This requires proving that another party’s negligence caused the harm the plaintiff suffered. It’s not enough to show that a person acted negligently — you must be able to show that their negligence was the proximate, or most direct, cause of the accident that harmed you.
- Damages – Finally, you must show that your injuries can be made better with compensation, or show “damages.”
In a civil case, the injured party must demonstrate that a “preponderance of the evidence” indicates the defendant’s liability. In other words, the injured must persuade a jury that it is more likely than not that the defendant’s negligence caused their accident and injury.
At Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer, our experienced Kentucky personal injury lawyers will seek evidence to craft a strong scarring and disfigurement case. We will demand just compensation you need for your medical expenses, lost wages, physical pain, and emotional distress. Most cases are settled in negotiations with insurers, but, if necessary, we can present a strong and persuasive case in court on your behalf.
Further, if you cannot perform your old job because of your injury and you cannot adequately perform another type of work, you may be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. If so, we will weigh whether and when to help you pursue an SSDI claim.
If you have suffered scarring and disfigurement in an on-the-job injury, we may be able to help you file a workers’ compensation claim. This would pay all of your necessary medical expenses and a portion of your salary without requiring you to prove that anyone was at fault. However, if someone other than your employer caused your injury, we may be able to pursue a third-party injury claim for additional compensation not available through a workers’ comp claim.
Our objective will be to recover full compensation for you for what you have suffered. Every case is different, but we will dig deeply into your accident, injury, and circumstances to determine the best approach to seeking maximum compensation for you. Then, we will fight to recover every dime you deserve to have.
Typical Damages in a Scarring and Disfigurement Lawsuit
In a personal injury lawsuit, the common types of damages we demand include compensation for:
- Medical expenses, including for future medical care that permanent injuries might require.
- Lost income during recovery or if you can never work again.
- Reduced earning capacity if you must take lower-paying work.
- Pain and suffering for the physical harm you’ve been put through.
- Emotional distress for your psychological pain.
- Loss of consortium for the loss of companionship or the loss of an intimate relationship with your spouse.
A Kentucky scarring and disfigurement lawyer from our firm will determine and work to recover all the damages potentially available to you.
Contact a KY Scarring and Disfigurement Lawyer
If you or a loved one has suffered scarring and disfigurement injuries in an accident in Kentucky, the attorneys of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer in Lexington can help. We will investigate what has happened to you and be ready to guide you through the legal process. We will demand the full compensation you deserve in a personal injury claim or through benefits you have earned over the years working in Kentucky.
An experienced Kentucky scarring and disfigurement attorney from our firm is ready to answer your questions and help you understand your legal options for seeking fair compensation for your losses. Contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer for a free initial consultation. As we pursue justice for you, we will never charge any attorney’s fees unless we recover money for you. Call (877) 809-5352 to speak with a personal injury lawyer about a scarring or disfigurement injury.
