Worth Of Scar Or Disfigurement In A Work Injury
What is my scar work injury case worth? How do you value it?
If you've read some of my other articles, you know that pretty much the value of your workers comp case is based on how much of a disability you are left with. In other words, how messed up are you after you fully heal, where if you're not really messed up it's a smaller case, if you are really walking around with a limp or can't do your job anymore, it's a bigger case.
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Affected By Average Weekly Wage
It's also affected a lot by your average weekly wage. In other words, if a guy makes 10 bucks an hour breaks his leg the same way as a guy who makes 20 bucks an hour. The dude who makes 20 bucks an hour will end up with close to double the amount that the guy who makes 10 bucks an hour is. It's just the way that the workers comp system is set up in the state of Illinois. Your mileage may vary in whatever state you're in but most comp in most states is based on the permanence and also on your average legal weekly wage.
Most Likely Possible In A Third Party Case
But what do you do with a scar? I mean a scar doesn't necessarily stop you from doing work or things like that. It's not a limp, it's not something that affects your ability to work that would be classically considered like a disability. What do you do with a scar in workers comp?
In like a third party case or a car accident, it's literally whatever a jury will give you for it as well as the attendant like mental anguish in that. But the comp is a little bit different. It's all based on the average weekly wage plus the number of weeks of disability and that forms like that lump sum of money at the end. But with a scar, you can't really do that calculation.
The Nature And Severity Of The Scar
Here's what you need to know in Illinois. First, if it if the scar is above your knees and below your chest level, it may not be compensable at all. So if you have like a scar on your abdomen that's not going to be compensable as disfigurement or if it is it's going to be very small amount of money. So you're talking about below the knees, above the chest area, a place where it's pretty much visible. If it's something that's visible all the time it's gonna be compensable. And really what it comes down to is, the nature and the severity of the scar.
Who The Judge And Arbitrator Is A Huge Factor
The next thing you really need to know is, that having a lawyer for your scar case or your disfigurement case is important. Who your judge is, who the arbitrator, whose courtroom your case is assigned to. In other words, the judge or arbitrator on your case is going to be huge.
Because what we do a lot with scar cases is, we go in front of the judge so the judge gets to see the scar. If we have pictures of what the scar looked like in the healing process we'll bring those too. There are some judges that value scars much higher than others and so that's something that you need to know.
Permanent Partial Disability
What if you have a disfigurement that isn't below the breast area, above the knee area. You can still be awarded PPD for that but it's usually not going to be very much. Then we would really focus on if the injury connected with the scar causes you in any permanence or lack of function or ongoing pain or problems. Because we'll get more mileage and value out of the case for you that way than any other way.
May Be Considered As Mental Anguish
Unlike in most injuries, usually like mental anguish and pain and suffering, is not even a factor in workers comp but it may be a factor in a scar case. So if you have a facial scar and it's an egregious wound, the arbitrator and the commission may consider the mental anguish and challenges you face due to that injury. Listening to my answer here if this is not satisfying to you, if you're like "oh Scott you're blowing it in this one normally you explain this stuff so well but you're being really vague with scars".
Limited To What The Jury Thinks
Well there's a reason for that. The awards are all over the place for scars. In my opinion the commission is not set up to really handle scars all that well. Although it's not that bad. You get in front of a good arbitrator who has some understanding and compassion. You got an ugly scar, you're going to get paid for it but probably get heck of a lot less than you would get if you get that scar due to medical malpractice or a car accident or something like that. In those cases we are only limited by what a jury thinks the effect that scar has had on your life and just the scar itself. You can get a lot of money.
Scar Case In Workers Comp Vs. In Third Party
Last thing I'll say about scars in general and this is true in workers comp but it's also true in car crashes and third-party cases even more. In comp you got an arbitrator who is a judge, who's got hundreds of comp cases on their call. They see the same cases over and over and over. They got to move the cases, that's their job right.
They're going to limit what you get for a scar versus a case that goes in front of a trial judge and preferably a jury and there is really no limit on what they might give. They may also give you nothing because they're not guilty at trial is always a possibility in a third party case. But if you have a compensable case in workers comp, the chances of you getting zero are quite low.
A Trade-Off
That's the trade-off that we always talk about between workers comp and third party. It's more likely you'll get benefits but the benefits and award you get are probably going to be lower than a third party case. Not always but a good lawyer who knows how to handle a pre-trial, knows how to present evidence, knows how to present damages information is going to maximize what you get in a disfigurement or scar case.
Every Case Is Different
Is there an equation? Like a back strain is usually worth about 12 weeks of time off work times 60 percent of your average weekly wage and that's the ballpark range for a back strain? Can we do simple math like that for a scar case? Absolutely not unfortunately. If I could believe me I'd give you the magic formula that would make my life super easy too when I'm handling a workers comp scar case. But it just doesn't exist because every case is different, the scars are different, the people are different and you're going to get a different judge every time.
I hope that answers some of your questions and I hope it helps you. If God forbid you or a loved one has been involved in an accident, whether it's third party like a car crash, fall down, dog bite, bar fight, medical mistake, nursing home abuse, fall at a grocery store or restaurant, or whether it's a work injury case. I am here to give you a free consultation. You can call me anytime night or day.
