While any injuries you receive in a car accident can be painful and significant, facial injuries can particularly impact your life. They may involve scarring, reconstruction and a lasting reminder of the accident. Unfortunately, car accident face injuries are common. If you’ve experienced facial trauma in a Columbia car accident, call The The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers for more information.
What’s the Potential for Face Injuries From a Car Accident?
In 2021, South Carolina saw 147,724 crashes, and 53,596 involved non-fatal injuries. Sadly, 1,198 people lost their lives in these accidents. Motor vehicle crashes and injuries have significantly risen in the last decade.
Because facial trauma is common in car accidents, the potential is high. When riding in or driving a car, your face is close to several hard surfaces. If you’re a pedestrian or bicyclist and a car hits you, your face may strike something on the vehicle or pavement.
What Causes Car Accident Face Injuries?
The impact of a crash can cause your face to strike objects or surfaces in the car. If you’re driving or riding in the front seat, you may hit the windshield, fly through it or have broken glass hit you in the face. Back-seat passengers can have injuries from side windows.
While airbags can save your life, the deployment force may cause facial injuries, including scratches, bruises or cuts.
You or your loved one can experience injuries from striking the dashboard, side door, steering wheel or any hard surface in the car. As a pedestrian or bicyclist, you can strike mirrors, windows, tires or the car exterior.
Unsecured objects in a car can become projectiles in an accident. These can include water bottles, bags, purses or other sharp or heavy items riding with you.
What Kinds of Face Injuries Can Happen in a Car Crash?
Not all car accident face injuries are severe. You may have minor cuts or bruises that quickly heal. However, the impact of a crash can cause permanent or disfiguring damage to the face.
Soft tissue injuries
Soft facial tissue includes ligaments, tendons and muscles. In a car accident, contact with broken glass, metal, pavement or hard plastic can cause trauma to the soft tissue. These injuries may include deep gashes or abrasions.
Bone or facial fractures
Common fractures for drivers and front passengers include broken noses, eye sockets and upper and lower jawbones. Your or your loved one may also have a fractured cheekbone or forehead. They happen more often in frontal crashes, and passengers in the front seat are more susceptible.
Symptoms of facial fractures include pain, swelling, excess salivation, jaw deformities and trouble swallowing.
Contusions
Contusions are common types of car accident face injuries. A contusion is the medical term for a bruise. Contusions can happen in a crash when the head strikes something in or on the car. Bleeding and swelling from a facial contusion can make it hard to breathe or see clearly.
Intracranial hemorrhage
An intracranial hemorrhage is another term for a brain bleed. It happens when blood pools between your skull and brain. It causes pressure against your brain and prevents oxygen from reaching it. An intracranial hemorrhage can induce temporary or permanent brain damage or lead to death. Symptoms include:
- Tingling, weakness or numbness in the face, arm or leg
- Sudden headache
- Confusion or dizziness
- Slurred speech
- Vomiting or nausea
These car accident face injuries can happen when your head or face hits something very hard.
Facial burns
If a car crash results in fire or an explosion, you or your loved one can experience burns to the face. Severe burns may require skin grafting and result in permanent scarring or disfigurement.
Lacerations
Lacerations or facial cuts can be deep and disfiguring. These facial injuries can happen if your face comes in contact with broken glass or sharp objects in or on the vehicle.
Eye injuries
Eye injuries can happen when your face strikes something, such as a mirror, the dashboard or a projectile. Debris flying around after an accident can cut, puncture or bruise your eye. Eye injuries can lead to disfigurement or loss of sight.
What Compensation Is Available for Car Accident Face Injuries?
A car accident can affect your ability to work, especially if you sustained severe injuries. You may require time off from your job. If your injuries caused permanent damage, you may be unable to return to your previous job.
Face injuries from a car accident may also incur medical bills and prescription costs. Combine these with your loss of income, and you can confront a big financial burden.
Our car accident lawyers can help you get compensation. It may include:
- Lost wages for the time you missed working or the loss of income after permanent injuries
- Medical bills, including hospitalization, doctor appointments, medication, therapy and rehabilitation
- Pain, suffering and emotional distress resulting from the accident
If you or your loved one sustained face injuries in a car accident from someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation.
Do You Need a Car Accident Lawyer for Face Injuries?
It is possible to handle your or your loved one’s claim alone. However, insurance companies may act differently if you do so. They want to pay you as little as possible for your claim. It is how they protect their bottom line.
The attorneys at The The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers have experience with car accident claims. We understand the tactics insurers may use. We also know how much compensation your case may be worth. We will work to prevent the insurance company from trying to pay you too little.
You can schedule a free consultation with The The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers. We will review your case to determine if you have a claim. If so, we will work to secure you proper compensation. You will only owe us money once you obtain a reward.
Trust The The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers if You Have Car Accident Face Injuries
Bert Louthian has more than 40 years of experience serving his community. He and his team will answer your questions and review your case with no obligation. Call The The Louthian Firm Accident & Injury Lawyers today if you’ve experienced car accident face injuries in South Carolina.
