Scarring and Disfigurement from Car Crashes

Scarring and Disfigurement from Car Crashes

For injured car crash victims, scarring and disfigurement can be devastating, life-changing consequences that affect not only a person’s appearance but also their emotional well-being, self-esteem, and financial future. Indiana and other states recognize these visible injuries as serious and compensable harms, just like physical disabilities or broken bones. The impact often lingers for years, or a lifetime, entitling crash survivors to seek damages. Contact an Indianapolis personal injury lawyer from Vaughan & Vaughan today to get the justice you need from your scarring or disfigurement injuries.

Common Causes of Scarring and Disfigurement in Car Crashes

While many incidents result in minor bruises or sprains, car accidents frequently cause injuries that leave long-lasting marks that may never go away. This often happens from the following:

• Airbag Burns and Abrasions: Though airbags save lives, their deployment involves intense force and chemicals that can create friction burns, street rash, or chemical injuries across the face, neck, chest, or arms.
• Lacerations from Glass or Metal: Broken windshields, twisted door frames, or razor-sharp bits of metal can cause deep cuts and slashes, especially across the face and hands, frequently leading to severe and lasting scars.
• Severe Road Rash in Motorcycle or Pedestrian Collisions: When a person’s body slides across pavement after being struck, layers of skin can be ripped off, sometimes leading to permanent scarring or changes in skin color and texture.
• Burns from Fires, Fuel Explosions, or Hot Surfaces: Fuel leaks or electrical fires lead to serious burns, which can cause scarring and significant disfigurement.
• Crush Injuries That Lead to Amputation: In severe cases, car accidents can lead to crush injuries that require amputation to save a person's life. This leads to a lifetime of looking and feeling different for many people.
• Surgical Scars from Emergency Treatment: Life-saving surgery after crashes may leave permanent stitch or graft marks, sometimes across large sections of the chest, back, or legs.
• Facial Fractures Leading to Permanent Changes: Fractures to cheekbones, jawbones, or eye sockets can heal irregularly or result in visible facial imbalances or prominent stitch lines, even after reconstructive surgery.

Scarring or disfigurement from crashes isn’t just “cosmetic” - it’s a lifelong reminder with real economic, social, and emotional impacts.

Insurance Company Tactics in Scarring and Disfigurement Cases

Insurance companies are known for putting up resistance in scarring and disfigurement cases, often trying to minimize the impact they have on victims. Understanding some of their tactics is helpful so you know what to expect and how to fight back. Here's what they might do:

Downplay Emotional Trauma

Carriers may argue that scarring or visible disfigurement only produces short-term embarrassment and that physical healing should resolve emotional distress. They often downplay anxiety, depression, relationship struggles, or any negative impact these injuries have on a person's life and mental health.

Claim Scars Will “Heal”

Adjusters might assert that visible marks or skin changes will diminish with time, regardless of clear medical opinions or the reality that deep cuts and burns rarely fade fully.

Offer Quick and Low Settlements

You'll likely get pressured to accept a payout quickly, long before the long-term scarring outcome is known. By settling beforehand, victims often miss out on payments that could cover severe and long-lasting disfigurement or the costly medical work this will require later on.

Dispute the Need for Future Procedures

It’s common for providers or adjusters to question whether plastic surgery, skin grafts, or even psychological treatment truly count as necessary, undermining the expense and seriousness of these efforts. Victims shouldn’t have to fight alone or accept less than what they truly deserve. At our firm, our Indianapolis car accident lawyers are ready to go up against these tactics and help you fight for the full compensation you need to recover. Call us or contact us online today to schedule a free consultation.