No Win, No FeeFacial injuries such as a broken nose, broken teeth or jaw fractures can lead to a lot of physical pain and suffering. They can also result in psychological harm when they lead to temporary or permanent scarring. Importantly, we could help you to claim compensation for a facial injury sustained in an accident that was not your fault. In this article about facial injury compensation claims, we’ll explain the types of injuries and accidents that could allow you to start a claim.
Our specialist advisors are on hand if you’d like to check if you could be compensated. They’ll review how you sustained your facial injury in a free initial consultation and explain your options. If it looks like you’ve got a fair chance of being awarded compensation, one of our personal injury lawyers may agree to help you claim on a No Win, No Fee basis. Knowing that you’ll only have to pay legal fees if compensation is paid will usually make the claims process a lot less stressful.
Please get in touch by calling 0800 652 1345 to discuss your claim right away or read on to learn more about facial injury claims before contacting us.
Can I claim compensation for a facial injury?
If you ask a personal injury lawyer to take on your facial injury claim, they’ll usually want to verify that:
- You were owed a legal duty of care by the defendant; and
- Their negligence led to an accident; in which
- You suffered a facial injury.
Legislation is usually used to check for a duty of care. For example, the Road Traffic Act 1988 might apply to facial injuries sustained in a car crash. Similarly, the Health and Safety at Work Act could be used if your facial injury occurred in the workplace. You don’t need to be too concerned by this as it’s something that your solicitor will assess during their preliminary checks.
As we progress through this guide, we’ll look at the types of negligence and injuries that could allow you to claim compensation. A little later on, we’ll review what sorts of proof could be used to support your claim.
Common facial injuries you could be compensated for
Based on the information in the previous section, it’s potentially possible to sue for any facial injury caused by someone else’s negligence. In our experience, some common facial injuries compensation could be claimed for include:
- Acid and chemical burns.
- Broken jaws.
- Eye injuries.
- Fractured cheekbones.
- Dental injuries causing lost or damaged teeth.
- A broken nose.
- Lacerations.
- Temporary and permanent scars.
While some of these facial injuries will heal over time, others may lead to permanent symptoms or scarring.
Even if we’ve not described your type of facial injury in our list, please feel free to contact us about your chance of starting a facial injury claim.
Common accidents that cause facial injuries
We’re now going to look at the types of accidents and incidents that could allow you to claim compensation for a facial injury.
Road traffic accidents
Even at low speeds, RTAs can cause head trauma and a lot of flying debris causing facial injuries. You could claim for any such injury if your RTA was caused by a driver that was driving recklessly, speeding, using their phone, drunk, on drugs or failing to follow the rules of the highway code.
Cyclists and pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to facial injuries following an RTA and could be compensated if the accident was not their fault.
Workplace accidents
When you’re at work, you are owed a legal duty of care by your employer. That means they need to take preventative measures to try and stop you from being injured at work. As such, you could claim compensation for a facial injury sustained in the workplace because of someone else’s negligence. For example, you could claim for suffering caused by foreign debris in the eye because your employer didn’t provide safety goggles. Similarly, you could claim for chemical burns to your face if your employer didn’t train you on how to handle chemicals safely.
Slips, trips and falls
Usually, when falling, you’ll put your hands out to try and reduce the impact of the fall. However, in some cases, your face will still strike a hard surface or be struck by flying debris. This can lead to various injuries like bruising, grazing or even fractured cheekbones.
Slips, trips and falls that lead to facial injuries could lead to a compensation claim if the accident was caused by negligence. For example, if you collided with a shelf in a supermarket after slipping on a spillage that was not cleared up promptly, a claim might be possible. Similarly, if you tripped on a pothole that the council had not inspected or repaired within the allowable timeframe, you might receive compensation.
Criminal assault
A broken jaw or nose is a common injury sustained if you’re punched in the face. While you may not be able to make a personal injury claim if you’re assaulted in a pub or bar, you could still be entitled to another type of compensation. Please read our guide on criminal injury claims to find out more.
Cosmetic negligence injuries
Regulated cosmetic surgery to the face should be carried out by a medical professional. This includes rhinoplasty (nose jobs), facelifts, eyelid surgery and liposuction. If you have suffered as a result of negligent facial cosmetic surgery, you may be entitled to claim compensation. For example, you could claim for nerve damage caused by a needle being inserted too far or uneven features following a facelift.
You could also claim compensation in some circumstances for facial injuries or scarring caused by unregulated treatments like lip fillers, a botched body piercing or chemical peels.
Dental negligence
Finally, you could be entitled to claim for suffering caused by dental negligence. Whether using a private or NHS dentist, you should expect a reasonable level of care from the dentist and their staff. If they follow the wrong procedure, use the wrong tools or fail to advise you of the risks of a dental procedure that goes wrong, you could claim for any subsequent suffering.
How much compensation for a facial injury?
The idea is that any settlement that’s made for a facial injury should help you to get back (as much as possible) to the position you were in before the accident. In some cases, such as with severe facial scarring, a claimant may continue to suffer for the long term. As such the compensation claimed should reflect that.
When making a facial injury compensation claim, you should consider:
- Physical pain, suffering and discomfort.
- Psychological suffering including embarrassment, distress and anxiety.
- Loss of amenity for any normal activities affected by your facial injuries.
- Loss of earnings to recover a reduction in earnings.
- Medical expenses including private plastic surgery.
- Travel costs.
- Care costs if you needed support while you were recovering.
- Future loss of earnings i.e. a model could claim if their facial injuries meant their work options were limited.
It is important to consider exactly how your facial injury has affected you before submitting your claim. If you work with one of our specialist solicitors, they’ll review your case in fine detail to help try and secure the highest possible settlement if your claim is won.
Providing proof for facial injury compensation claims
As we explained earlier, before any insurance company will award you compensation, you’ll need to prove the extent of your facial injuries, how they’ve affected you and why their client was to blame for them.
In our experience, the types of proof that could help you to secure compensation for a facial injury include:
- Before and after photographs. Taking photographs throughout your recovery can help to explain how long you suffered. They can also be used to prove any permanent facial scarring.
- Accident report forms. You should always report an accident at work or in a public place. If it’s recorded in an accident report book (which it should be by law), your copy of the report can be a good tool to prove when and where the accident occurred.
- Medical records. Your solicitor will ask for copies of any medical notes from your GP or the hospital that treated you to help prove the extent of your initial injuries. An independent medical report will also be obtained as part of the facial injury claims process.
- Witness statements. If there is any argument over your version of the events that led to your accident, your solicitor may ask any witnesses to describe what they saw.
- CCTV footage. In some cases, security camera or dashcam recordings of your accident might be obtained to help prove how the accident occurred.
Don’t be too concerned if you’ve not yet managed to secure the proof listed above. If your claim is taken on by one of our solicitors, they’ll take steps to collect anything needed to support your case.
No Win, No Fee claims
Taking on any type of personal injury claim can be a stressful process. Stress levels can increase if you decide to take on legal representation and are worried about the cost of doing so. As such, our team of solicitors provide a No Win, No Fee service for any claim they decide to work on.
Essentially, how No Win, No Fee works is that:
- Legal costs do not need to be paid upfront.
- You will not have to pay any legal fees if your facial injury claim is lost.
- A percentage of your compensation will be deducted to cover your solicitor’s time if the claim is won.
If your claim proceeds, your solicitor will provide you with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This will explain what success fee you’ll pay (a maximum of 25 per cent of any settlement) if the claim is won.
After you’ve signed your CFA, your solicitor’s main goals are to:
- Collate any proof you’ve provided and try to secure anything else needed.
- Send your facial injury claim to the defendant.
- Liaise with the defendant’s legal team or insurers on your behalf.
- Keep you informed about how things are going.
- Aim to secure the highest possible settlement amount for facial injuries so that you are compensated fairly.
To check if you could claim for an injury to your face on a No Win, No Fee basis, please call today.
Facial injury claim time limits
As with all personal injury claims, you’ll have 3 years to claim compensation for facial injuries. In most cases, this will begin from the date of the accident that led to your suffering.
To make it easier to find proof to back up your claim, we’d suggest beginning the claims process as early as possible. Starting early could also help you to recover as interim payments might be paid to cover the cost of remedial cosmetic surgery or other immediate expenses.
Can I claim compensation for my child’s facial injury?
If your child has injured their face at school (in a chemistry lesson for example), in a park or whilst participating in a sporting activity, they may be entitled to claim compensation if the accident resulted from someone else’s negligence.
You can represent your child in a facial injury compensation claim by becoming their litigation friend. That means you’ll be able to manage their claim and try to secure compensation on their behalf at any time before their 18th birthday.
Our solicitors can help you to apply as a litigation friend if your claim is accepted and guide you through the claims process once approved.
Start a facial injury compensation claim today
If you’ve sustained a facial injury in an accident that was not your fault, speak to us today on 0800 652 1345 to see if you could be compensated. A member of our team will listen carefully to what’s happened and review your chances of being awarded a compensation payout.
If your claim is accepted by one of our personal injury lawyers, they’ll represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis. As such, you’ll benefit from their skills and experience but won’t have to pay them a penny unless your claim is successful.
If you’d rather review your options online, you can speak to our live chat team about facial injury compensation claims, or arrange your free consultation here.
