Accidents happen all the time and there are injuries you could easily recover from. However, there are cases when accidents cause disfigurement. From road crashes to surgical procedures gone wrong, the disfiguration they produce will have a major physical and emotional impact on the victims.
If someone’s actions disfigured specific parts of your body, your best option is to sue for damages. Falling under the category of personal injury, a disfigurement case will compensate you properly if it’s done right. Here’s what you need to do to sue for disfigurement injuries.
Table of Contents
1. Consider the type and severity of the injury
Disfigurement comes in different forms, ranging from damage to the face to the loss of a limb or an eye. The physical and emotional damages they produce will also vary. If you are a fashion model whose face was accidentally burned at a restaurant, the injuries could cost you your career and might lead to a lifetime of humiliation and depression. The extent of your injuries will help determine the size of compensation you will be getting. You just need to make a full account of how the disfigurement is affecting your life.
2. Establish a lack of due care
Like most types of personal injury, disfigurement could be the result of the other party’s failure to provide due care. Whether you’re at the office or a movie theater, the people overseeing the safety of these places are responsible for any avoidable accident that may occur. The same is true if you have undergone a faulty surgery that led to scarring. By proving that your surgeon failed to follow standards that could have prevented the injury, you have a better chance at recovering compensation.
3. Get a lawyer to represent you
It’s possible to launch a claim or lawsuit on your own, but this will set you up for defeat. That’s because you may not have full knowledge about the value of your claims and the other side could come up with a legal strategy to undervalue your compensation. It’s better if you get a personal injury lawyer to help you navigate the process and justify the compensation you deserve. Your lawyer can also help you file a claim before your insurer and highlight the psychological effects of the injury.
4. Factor in economic and non-economic effects
Most cosmetic injuries are usually undervalued because they cost less to correct. In the case of lost limbs or scarring on body parts considered assets to the victim, economic damages must be factored in. If you lost a hand during a workplace mishap, you may not be as productive as before. In case an injury produces a permanent scar on your face, your lawyer could highlight its effects on your self-esteem and your quality of life.
5. Keep your health condition in check
Disfigurement may indicate a more serious health complication. A small scar could hide a more severe injury beneath, so it’s important to visit your doctor regularly and get a full overview of your actual condition. This will help you strengthen your claim and justify a larger compensation.
If you are a victim of disfigurement, just know that you have a fighting chance to recover and bring your life back on track.