Scarring Claims – How Much Compensation Can You Claim?

If you have suffered scarring on your body or face due to somebody else’s negligence, you may be able to file a scarring claim for compensation.

Scarring can be more than just a physical mark. It can affect confidence, mental health, and day-to-day life, and in some cases, can leave people with psychological issues, such as a lack of confidence. This can be taken into account when it comes to calculating compensation for scarring.

In this guide, we’ll explain the types of incidents that can lead to scarring claims, how the claims process works, and what level of compensation for scarring you might receive.

Our team can help if you’re considering starting a claim. We’ll begin by reviewing your case with you in a no-obligation telephone consultation. You’ll be given free legal advice and, if your case is strong enough, you could be partnered with one of our personal injury solicitors. Importantly, any scarring claims they take on are processed on a No Win No Fee basis, which can make your claim a lot less stressful.

Am I Eligible To Make A Scarring Claim?

Anybody who has suffered scarring from an accident or injury caused by negligence may be able to claim compensation. This can include scars from workplace accidents, road traffic accidents, medical negligence, cosmetic procedures, burns, or other incidents where another party was at fault.

Generally, to make a successful scarring compensation claim, you will need to show that:

• The defendant owed you a legal duty of care; and
• They broke that duty of care through a negligent act; and
• You suffered injuries that resulted in scarring because of that negligence.

Legislation can usually establish whether a duty of care was owed. For example, employers have a duty of care because of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. For car crashes, the duty can be established by the Road Traffic Act 1988. This isn’t really anything you’ll need to worry about, as your solicitor will know which law applies in your case.

After that, you’ll usually need evidence to prove who caused your accident and how you were injured, which we’ll cover in the next section.

Evidence To Support A Scarring Compensation Claim

To obtain evidence to support a scarring compensation claim, the following steps could be followed after an accident:

• Report the accident where possible. Companies must record incidents in an accident report book. You can ask for a copy to help prove when and where the accident that ultimately caused your scarring took place.
• Seek treatment. Medical records from A&E, your GP or a minor injuries unit could go some way to proving the extent of any injuries.
• Take photographs. If possible, take pictures of the accident scene before anything is repaired or removed.
• Get witness details. A solicitor might ask for a statement to help corroborate your allegations. Independent witnesses may be held in higher regard, but remember to get the details of family members or friends who saw what happened too.
• Secure footage. If CCTV footage or dashcam recordings are available, try to obtain a copy. Your solicitor could help with this, but you’ll need to act quickly before the footage is wiped.
• Record expenditure. As part of your scarring compensation claim, you could request any costs associated with your injuries to be paid back.

This guidance doesn’t apply in all cases as not all scarring claims relate to accidents. For example, you could also claim for criminal injuries or medical negligence. In most cases, though, reporting the incident and seeking medical attention will provide vital evidence to support your case.

Common Causes Of Scarring Injury Claims

There are various ways in which you could sustain an injury that leads to scarring. It’s not possible to list them all here. However, we have added some common scenarios that could result in a scarring claim below:

• Lacerations resulting from an accident at work.
• Scars after being burned in a restaurant by faulty work equipment or spillages.
• Scarring resulting from cosmetic surgery negligence.
• Stab injuries caused by criminal assault.
• Permanent scar from a car crash.
• Where scarring develops due to poor medical care when treating a wound.
• Cuts and lacerations caused by damaged furniture in a hotel accident.

Importantly, the location of the scarring is important in personal injury claims. As you can imagine, facial scars could cause more psychological issues than a small scar on the back of the leg. That said, a claim could still be made for any type of scar so long as it can be shown to have been caused by negligence.

Even if you can’t see a scenario similar to your own here, don’t worry. We will review all cases for free and provide legal advice about your options. An advisor will let you know if they think you have the grounds to proceed and could refer your case to one of our No Win No Fee solicitors.

How Much Compensation For Scarring Could I Claim?

When calculating how much compensation for scarring a claimant could claim, there are several elements to consider. As mentioned earlier, the location and effect of the scarring are important. Another factor is whether it’s temporary or permanent scarring. The age of the claimant might also be considered too. Generally, personal injury claims are split into:

• General damages. This part of the claim is based on your physical and psychological injuries. The settlement amount is based on pain, suffering and loss of amenity.
• Special damages. Here, the claim looks at any financial impact. The idea is to put you back in the same position you were in financially before you were injured. As a result, you could claim for any medical costs, travel expenses or lost income that you’ve sustained.

As part of the scarring claims process, a medical assessment might be required. It would be carried out by an independent specialist who’ll review your medical notes and discuss the impact of your scarring with you. After your appointment, which can be booked locally, a report will be provided to outline your injuries. It will also explain if you’ll likely continue to suffer in the future.

Scarring Compensation Calculator

In this section, we’ve added a table of potential compensation figures for the more common scar injuries. A bit further down the page you’ll find a compensation calculator for other physical and psychological injuries. The data is based on the Judicial College Guidelines (for general damages) as these are the figures personal injury solicitors will refer to.

Compensation amounts for scarring to the body:

• £2,890 to £9,560 compensation for a single noticeable scar or a number of superficial lacerations to arm/s, leg/s, hand/s.
• Around £10,550 compensation for the inevitable scar an exploratory laparotomy would leave.
• £9,560 to £27,740 compensation for a single disfiguring scar or some noticeable lacerations scarring to the chest, arm/s, back, leg/s or arm/s.
• £127,930 compensation or more for significant burns covering 40% or more of the body.

Compensation amounts for facial scarring:

• £2,080 to £4,310 compensation for minor facial scarring.
• £4,820 to £16,770 compensation for less significant facial scarring.
• £11,120 to £36,720 compensation for significant facial scarring.
• £21,920 to £59,090 compensation for less severe facial scarring.
• £36,340 to £118,790 compensation for very severe facial scarring.

Because of the factors listed earlier, no two claims are the same. Therefore, these figures should be taken as guidance only. If you call for a free claim assessment, we may be able to provide a more personalised compensation estimate if your scarring compensation claim is taken on.

Time Limits For Claiming Scarring Injury Compensation

In most personal injury claims, court proceedings usually need to be started within a 3-year time limit. This will normally begin from the date you were injured, or from when your scarring became apparent (the date of knowledge). Importantly, claims involving criminal injuries (made through the CICA scheme) currently have a 2-year limitation period.

Compensation can also be pursued on behalf of a child who has suffered as well. In these cases, the 3-year time limit won’t apply until the child reaches 18 years of age. Instead, the claim must be started at any point before the child turns 18. Otherwise, if a claim does not happen, the normal time limit will begin on the claimant’s birthday.

We advise that it’s best to begin the claims process as soon as possible. By doing so, your solicitor will have plenty of time to collect the evidence required to support your scarring claim. You will probably find it easier to discuss how your injuries have affected you too.

If you’d like us to verify how long you have to start your scarring compensation claim, please get in touch.

Do I Need A Personal Injury Solicitor To File A Scarring Claim?

In our opinion, the importance of using a personal injury solicitor for your scarring compensation claim cannot be understated. If you don’t show how your injuries were caused and who caused them, you could lose out on any compensation you’re entitled to.

That’s why we suggest using our personal injury solicitors when making a scarring claim. If your claim is accepted, one of our solicitors will discuss your case in detail with you. By doing so, they’ll be able to include all aspects of your suffering in your claim, including any that might occur in the future. This is important as you are usually only allowed to make a single successful claim.

To make things easier for you, your solicitor will handle all of the questions sent by the defendant’s legal team. If there are any arguments about liability, your solicitor will use their experience to try and counter them. Also, if a settlement is offered, it will be reviewed with you before acceptance to ensure it fully compensates you for your suffering.

Starting The Scarring Claims Process

If you would like us to help you make a claim, call us today on 0800 6524 881. All case reviews are free and on a no-obligation basis, where we can assess the strength of your claim and explain what options you might have.

Where a claim appears to be viable, we could partner you with a personal injury or medical negligence solicitor from our team. They handle all scarring claims on a No Win No Fee basis, meaning you won’t face any upfront legal costs.