Facial Injuries Due to Car Accidents – Treatment & Recovery

September 20, 2021

A Chicago car accident lawyer discusses common injuries to the face

Injuries to the face often occur in serious car accidents. In an instant, you or a loved one can sustain a facial fracture, soft tissue injury, facial burn, open face wound or another type of facial trauma due to objects piercing or striking the face in a head-on collision, rear-end accident or another type of crash.

If your injury occurred due to a bad car accident caused by another driver, dealing with your injury takes on a whole different dimension. Legally, you should receive financial compensation for your injury-related expenses from the at-fault party. But actually obtaining such money can be challenging for many different reasons.

That’s why it’s important to understand why facial injuries often occur due to motor vehicle accidents, what medical treatments are available for them and what legal options are available to injury victims and their families.

What causes facial damage in a crash?

Facial injuries sustained in car accidents occur for many different reasons. In many cases, such crashes occur because one driver was behaving in a reckless or negligent manner. This includes texting while driving, speeding and other types of reckless driving.

More specifically, injuries to the face often occur due to many of the following incidents:

  • Face striking the steering wheel, dashboard, windshield or another part of the car.
  • Face striking an airbag in the steering wheel if the airbag is deployed due to a collision.
  • Shattered glass or other debris striking the face.
  • Being ejected from the vehicle.
  • Being ejected from the car through the windshield.
  • Fire in the vehicle caused by the crash.

These are just some of the common causes of facial injuries sustained in car accidents. Every crash is different and may have its own unique circumstances. That’s why it’s important for injury victims to have their crash investigated by an experienced attorney who can explore all the available legal options.

What are the different types of facial injuries?

Facial injuries sustained in a car crash can cover a wide range. Some of the most common and most serious injuries include:

Facial fractures

Broken bones (referred to as fractures) in the face include nasal fractures (broken nose), the most common facial fracture. Other types of fractures to the face include broken jaw (maxilla fracture), frontal bone (forehead) fracture, upper jaw fracture (maxilla fracture), broken cheekbone (zygomatic maxillary fracture) or eye socket (orbital) fracture. In addition, many facial fractures involve skull fractures or other serious head injuries, including traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in some cases.

Facial lacerations

Cuts to the face caused by sharp objects scraping, scratching or penetrating the skin can be very serious. Deep cuts sustained in a car crash can cut through skin, muscle, nerves, connective tissue and even bone.

Open facial wounds

Cuts that break the skin in the face are sometimes referred to as open facial wounds. An open wound to the face sustained in a car crash needs to be treated right away, especially in order to avoid infection or permanent scarring.

Facial burns

While relatively rare, some motor vehicle accidents result in fires or explosions. Severe burns (especially third-degree burns and fourth-degree burns) can damage the epidermis (outer layer of skin), deep skin tissue, muscle, bone and subcutaneous tissue, the innermost layer of skin.

Types of medical treatment

Serious facial injuries can have long-lasting effects and can result in permanent scarring and nerve damage. This is why it’s important for injury victims to receive the necessary medical care immediately after their car crash. Depending on what type of facial injury you sustained in a motor vehicle accident, there are often many different types of medical treatments available. Such treatments include:

  • Stitches for facial lacerations or deep cuts. Medical professionals also need to make sure that such cuts do not become infected wounds.
  • Emergency surgery, especially in cases involving excessive bleeding or injuries which restrict someone’s ability to breathe.
  • Reconstructive surgery, especially in cases involving compound bone fractures, facial fractures and other facial trauma.
  • Plastic surgery, especially in cases involving severe facial injuries and deep tissue damage that could result in permanent scarring.

These are just some of the medical treatments often available for different facial injuries. Each injury often requires its own unique treatment plan. That’s why it’s important for injury victims to have a doctor diagnose their injury immediately and provide the necessary treatment needed to facilitate a full recovery.

Doctor bills can add up fast

Medical care for facial injuries can be very expensive and add up fast. Fortunately, many injury victims can seek financial compensation from the at-fault party that caused their accident. This is because many states, including Illinois, have an at-fault car insurance system. This simply means that the at-fault party is responsible for compensating injury victims for all their injury-related expenses.

In most cases, this means the at-fault driver’s insurance company is the one responsible for paying for an injury victim’s expenses related to their accident. Such expenses not only include medical care but vehicle repair or replacement costs as well as replacement income if the injury victim cannot work while they’re recovering from the accident.

This might sound straightforward. But in many cases, many injury claims turn out to be very complicated. That’s because the financial impact of treating and recovering from a serious facial injury can add up to thousands of dollars or significantly more. And instead of paying for such expenses, some insurance companies focus their efforts on rejecting or denying legitimate injury claims. This is why it’s important to have a skilled attorney on your side, standing up for your rights.

A car accident attorney can fight for compensation

When you have an experienced attorney handling your injury claim, you can dictate what happens next. Instead of insurance companies telling you what to do, your lawyer can negotiate with them and demand the money you deserve. Many insurance companies agree to cooperate and make a fair settlement offer once they see that your lawyer understands how the legal system works. If not, your attorney can file a lawsuit or take other legal action on your behalf.

We understand what’s at stake at Coplan & Crane. That’s because our personal injury lawyers have decades of experience fighting for the rights of injury victims and their families in the greater Chicago area.

You have enough to worry about if you or a loved one sustained a serious facial injury in a motor vehicle accident. Get a Chicago car accident lawyer who knows what to do and who can stand up for your rights after your crash. Contact our law firm and schedule a free case evaluation at our Oak Park office. We handle injury claims throughout Illinois.