Can I Get Compensated for Permanent Scars and Burns?

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After a serious motor vehicle collision or motorcycle crash, many people suffer from painful and disfiguring wounds and scars. These may be due to the injury itself or from surgery or treatments designed to help them recover. If you’ve been permanently scarred from a crash, let the Krause & Kinsman Law Firm help you recover compensation for your permanent injuries.

 

How the Law Compensates for Disfigurement in Missouri

personal injury claim lawyer in Kansas City MO
If you’ve been permanently scarred from a crash, let the Krause & Kinsman Law Firm help you recover compensation for your permanent injuries.

Under Missouri law, there are two broad categories of damages that you can recover when injured by someone else: compensatory damages and punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish wrongdoers for extreme behaviors, while compensatory damages are designed to make you whole again. In the vast majority of cases, courts do not permit punitive damages. These are reserved for the most egregious behavior. Therefore, in most cases, we will focus on compensatory damages.

The law seeks to make victims whole or put them back to where they would have been if not for the injury. Since nothing can undo an injury, money is used to balance the situation and help a person recover. There is no specific law that breaks down all the ways a person can be hurt. Instead, the courts look at whether the injury has an appreciable effect on the person.  Compensable injuries can include:

  • Burns
  • Road rash (common for motorcycle injuries)
  • Broken bones
  • Muscle and ligament injuries
  • Permanent disfigurement or scarring
  • Physical pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress

 

Scarring Must Usually Be Permanent for Compensation

In general, courts will not separate scars from the underlying injury for the purpose of compensation unless the scar is permanent. Here’s how it works. Say you have been injured in a car accident in Missouri. You broke your arm and suffered numerous cuts and lacerations. Doctors were able to repair the broken arm without surgery and you healed quickly.

Five months after the crash, you have no signs of injury and there are no scars or abnormal disfigurement. In this scenario, you would be able to collect compensation based on your pain and suffering, your broken arm, your costly medical care, any time you lost from work, as well as any lost ability to perform daily tasks. However, you would not be able to make a sincere argument for disfigurement, because the scars went away.

On the other hand, if you change the facts slightly and assume the injury resulted in a permanent deformity in your arm or a large surgical scar that is unlikely to ever heal, then you would likely be able to claim disfigurement as an additional element of your damages.

 

Get Help With Your Missouri Injury Case

If you’ve suffered serious injuries in a Missouri auto accident, call the Krause & Kinsman Law Firm today. We never take a fee unless we recover, and you can call and speak with an attorney free of charge about your case. Call today to see if we can help you recover compensation for your injuries.

Our Reputation

The Krause & Kinsman Law Firm is made up of some of the nation’s foremost legal minds in the mass-tort field. That’s why our clients & co-counsel partners choose us.

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, and Co-Chair of the Law & Briefing Committee in MDL 2846:

In Re: Davol, Inc./C.R. Bard, Inc., Polypropylene Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2974:

In Re: Paragard IUD Products Liability Litigation

Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in MDL 2924:

In Re: Zantac (Ranitidine) Products Liability Litigation

Along with the aforementioned MDLs,

Plaintiff’s Counsel has prosecuted thousands of cases across other Multi-District Litigations and Mass-Torts, including:

MDL No. 3043:

Acetaminophen ASD/ADHD Product Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2753:

Atrium Medical Corp. C-Qur Mesh Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2782:

Ethicon Physiomesh Flexible Composite Hernia Mesh Products Liability Litigation

MCL No. 627:

In Re: Physiomesh Litigation, MCL

MCL No. 633:

In Re: Prolene Hernia System Mesh Litigation

MDL No. 2750:

Cook Medical, Inc., IVC Filters Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2641:

Bard IVC Filters Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2326:

In Re: Boston Scientific Corp. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2606:

Benicar (Olmesartan) Product Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2666:

In Re: Forced Air Warming Devices Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2591:

Syngenta AG MIR162 Corn Litigation

MDL No. 2936:

In Re: Smity’s/CAM2303 Tractor Hydraulic Fluid Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation

MCL No. 630:

In Re: Proceed Mesh Litigation

MDL No. 2543:

In Re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation

MDL No. 2004:

In Re: Mentor Corp. ObTape Transobturator Sling Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2187:

In Re: C. R. Bard, Inc. Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2325:

In Re: American Medical Systems, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2327:

In Re: Ethicon, Inc., Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 2387:

In Re: Coloplast Corp. Pelvic Support Systems Products Liability Litigation

MDL No. 251:

In Re: Neomedic Pelvic Repair System Products Liability Litigation

Highly Awarded Trial Attorneys

The Krause & Kinsman Law Firm is one of the nation’s leading mass-tort & personal-injury law firms. The founding partners, Adam & Robert, have been selected to serve on steering committees for some of the largest pharmaceutical mass-tort cases.

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Partnering with Krause & Kinsman is easy. When you partner with Krause & Kinsman, you can be sure that our mutual clients’ complex matters are handled with the utmost care and dedication. In addition to our top-notch representation, we will ensure our mutual clients receive frequent communication about the status of their cases.

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Recognized leaders in mass-torts with vast experience in complex litigation.

Your clients will appreciate the high-quality representation provided.

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Collaborate on the case together and receive co-counsel fees.