The most important functions of your everyday life involve the different parts of your face and head: Your eyes see, your ears hear, your mouth speaks and eats, and your nose smells. Your face is also the first thing other people see — it’s what your children, family, and friends know and love.
Put simply, your face is important. And any injury to your face can have catastrophic consequences. Unfortunately, facial injuries are common, and they are particularly common in car accidents. 
Car accident face injuries can be among the most serious harms that can come to your face and head, and understanding the severity of your situation and your legal options may be the only way forward to some sort of quality of life. Our Costa Mesa car accident lawyer is here to help. Read on to learn everything you need to know about face injuries from car accidents and how to move forward.
Common Car Accident Face Injuries in California
Car accidents are among the leading causes of injuries of all types, but they are particularly likely to cause trauma to the head and face. In fact, one study found that more than 51 percent of auto accidents with injuries involved facial injuries.
If you think about it, it makes sense. Cars often move at high speed, and drivers’ faces are only inches away from the steering wheel, driver-side window, and dashboard. When a collision occurs, you’re lucky if your face doesn’t hit one of those objects — if not the airbag.
But which types of car accident face injuries are most common? A separate study published in the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery found that the following facial injuries were most common in car accidents:
- General facial fractures
- Nasal bone fractures
- Zygomatic complex fractures (near the cheekbones)
- Blow-out fractures (bones surrounding your eyes)
- Maxilla fractures (middle face and jaw)
- Facial lacerations
- Facial abrasions
- Friction burns on the face
According to the study, 46.3 percent of car accident victims with those facial injuries experienced complications like facial scarring, numbness, and eyelid dysfunction. And nearly half of those required secondary surgeries to correct the issues.
When Can You Sue for Face Injuries from a Car Accident?
If you have any of the facial injuries described above, you’re in pain and likely dealing with medical bills and maybe even time away from work. But can you sue for your car accident facial injuries?
That depends on how your car accident happened. In California, everyone has a responsibility to act in a way that is not negligent or reckless. And when anyone fails in that responsibility and an injury results, they may be legally liable for the injury and related damages.
In other words, you may be able to sue for a face injury from a car accident if someone else was at fault for the crash and they caused the crash through negligence. Common forms of negligence that lead to serious car accidents include drunk driving, drowsy driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving, running red lights, improper lane changes, and any failure to comply with traffic laws.
Don’t forget that, even if you have a clear-cut case of negligence that warrants a personal injury lawsuit, you’re on a time limit. In California, the statute of limitations for personal injury — otherwise known as your deadline to file a lawsuit — is two years from the date of the accident.
Damages Tied to Auto Accident Related Facial Injuries
Fortunately for car accident facial injury victims, California law provides a legal pathway to recovering compensation when someone else is at fault for the crash. But what, exactly, can you be compensated for?
Really, anyway in which this crash has caused harm in your life may warrant compensation in your injury claim. The damages you pursue will depend on the details of your accident, but some of the common damages in car accident claims involving facial injuries are as follows:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Facial scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of consortium (damage to personal relationships)
In your claim, you will need to assign an appropriate monetary value to each of the damages on your list. That includes the non-monetary damages, such as the permanent disfigurement of your face.
How an Orange County Lawyer Can Help
Here’s the truth: It’s hard to think about anything other than your injury and recovery when you have suffered a facial injury in an auto accident. Injuries to the face are some of the most dangerous from a physical standpoint and severe from a psychological standpoint. You need — and deserve — some time and space to focus on recovering to the greatest possible extent.
But if you’re trying to put together a personal injury claim, you’re not focusing on your recovery. Instead, you’re focusing on tricky legal details and worrying about making a mistake. And if you do make a mistake, you risk losing your chance to recover any amount of compensation.
That’s not the kind of stress you need when you’re dealing with a severe facial injury. The good news is that an experienced Costa Mesa car accident lawyer can take all of the stress of your case off of your shoulders and give you a much better shot at actually recovering the compensation you deserve. We can handle everything from gathering evidence and filing documents to dealing with insurance negotiations and arguing in court.
The idea is to make your life easier and get you what you deserve. That’s what we work tirelessly to do for our clients every day.
Speak with a Trusted and Experienced Costa Mesa Car Accident Lawyer Today
Car accident face injuries are not something you can just ignore. Injuries to your face have direct and severe effects on your daily life, and if someone else is at fault for the injuries, California law says you may be owed compensation.
And an experienced car accident lawyer can help. The Case Barnett Law team has helped countless Californians in situations like yours, and we are prepared to help you, too. Whether you have face injuries from a car accident or some other accident, we’re here to listen to your story, inform you of your options, and hold the at-fault party fully accountable.
Ready to get started? Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our personal injury attorney team by calling 949-409-0055 or contacting us online today.
