The Lasting Impact of Burn Scars
Burns heal, but scars remain. For many burn injury victims in Chicago and across Illinois, the physical scars are a permanent reminder of the worst day of their life. Scarring and disfigurement affect how you look, how you feel about yourself, and how others treat you. They can limit your career, damage your relationships, and cause lasting psychological harm.
Illinois law recognizes that scarring and disfigurement are serious injuries that deserve significant compensation. If you have permanent scars from a burn injury caused by someone else’s negligence, you have the right to pursue damages that reflect the true impact on your life.
What Counts as Disfigurement Under Illinois Law
Disfigurement is any permanent change to your physical appearance that makes you look different from how you looked before the injury. In burn cases, this includes:
- Raised, thick scars (hypertrophic scars)
- Keloid scars that extend beyond the original burn site
- Skin discoloration from burns or skin grafts
- Contracture scars that pull the skin tight and limit movement
- Loss of hair in burned areas
- Changes in skin texture
- Amputation of fingers, limbs, or other body parts
- Facial disfigurement, including damage to the nose, ears, or lips
Illinois courts treat disfigurement as a distinct category of damages, separate from pain and suffering or medical expenses. This means you can receive compensation specifically for the disfigurement itself, in addition to other damages.
Factors That Determine Disfigurement Compensation
There is no fixed formula for calculating disfigurement damages in Illinois. Juries consider several factors:
Visibility of the Scars
Scars on the face, neck, hands, and arms are visible in everyday life. They affect how you are perceived by others and how you present yourself professionally and socially. Courts consistently award higher compensation for scars in visible areas compared to scars that are normally covered by clothing.
Severity of the Scarring
A small, flat scar is different from a large, raised burn scar covering half the face. The size, texture, color, and overall appearance of the scars matter. Severe scarring that dramatically changes a person’s appearance commands higher compensation.
Age of the Victim
A 25-year-old with severe facial burns will live with those scars for decades longer than a 70-year-old with the same injury. Courts account for the number of years a person will have to cope with disfigurement. Younger victims typically receive higher disfigurement awards.
Impact on Daily Life
Disfigurement damages are not just about appearance. They reflect how the scars affect your daily life:
- Do you avoid social situations because of your scars?
- Has your self-confidence been damaged?
- Do people stare, ask questions, or treat you differently?
- Has disfigurement affected your romantic relationships?
- Do you feel anxious or depressed because of how you look?
Testimony from the victim, family members, friends, and mental health professionals about these impacts is powerful evidence in a disfigurement claim.
Impact on Employment
Some careers require a certain physical appearance. Severe scarring can limit job opportunities in fields like sales, hospitality, entertainment, and any client-facing role. Even in jobs where appearance is less important, burn contractures can physically prevent you from performing required tasks. Lost earning capacity from disfigurement is compensable.
Gender Considerations
While both men and women can recover disfigurement damages, research shows that juries sometimes award different amounts based on societal expectations about appearance. An experienced attorney will present your case in a way that maximizes the impact regardless of gender.
Types of Burn Scars
Understanding the different types of burn scars helps explain why treatment is so expensive and why compensation should reflect the long-term reality.
Hypertrophic Scars
These are raised, red scars that stay within the boundaries of the original burn. They develop when the body produces too much collagen during healing. They are thick, stiff, and can be itchy or painful. Pressure garments and silicone treatments can help, but they rarely eliminate the scar completely.
Keloid Scars
Keloids grow beyond the original wound area. They are raised, dark, and can continue to grow over time. Keloids are more common in people with darker skin tones. Treatment options include steroid injections, laser therapy, and surgical removal, but keloids frequently return after treatment.
Contracture Scars
When burns damage a large area of skin, the scar tissue that forms can tighten and pull. This is called a contracture. Contractures over joints can severely restrict movement. They often require surgical release and physical therapy to restore function.
Skin Graft Scars
Skin graft surgery saves lives, but it leaves its own scars. The donor site (where skin was taken from) and the graft site (where it was placed) both scar. Grafted skin looks and feels different from surrounding skin. It may be a different color, texture, or thickness.
Treatment for Burn Scars
Scar treatment is a long-term process. It can take years and involve multiple procedures:
- Pressure garments: Worn for months to years to flatten and soften scars
- Silicone sheets and gels: Applied to reduce scar thickness and redness
- Laser therapy: Multiple sessions to improve scar appearance and texture
- Steroid injections: To shrink hypertrophic and keloid scars
- Scar revision surgery: Surgical procedures to improve scar appearance or release contractures
- Skin expansion: A process where a balloon is placed under healthy skin near the scar to grow extra skin for reconstruction
- Cosmetic tattooing: To restore color to scarred areas, including eyebrows and lips
The cost of scar treatment over a lifetime can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. All of these costs are compensable in a burn injury claim.
Psychological Impact of Disfigurement
The emotional toll of burn scars is real and significant. Studies show that burn survivors experience high rates of:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Body image issues
- Social isolation
- Difficulty forming or maintaining relationships
- Sleep disturbances
Illinois law allows you to recover compensation for emotional distress caused by disfigurement. A psychologist or psychiatrist who specializes in trauma can provide testimony that supports this part of your claim.
Proving Disfigurement Damages
Building a strong disfigurement claim requires specific evidence:
- Before and after photographs: Show what you looked like before the injury and what you look like now
- Medical records: Detailed documentation of the burn injury, treatment, and scarring
- Expert medical testimony: A burn surgeon or dermatologist who can explain the permanence of the scars and future treatment needs
- Psychological evaluation: A mental health professional’s assessment of the emotional impact
- Personal testimony: Your own account of how disfigurement has changed your life
- Witness testimony: Family, friends, and coworkers who can describe the changes they have observed
- Life care plan: A projection of future medical and psychological treatment needs
Illinois Disfigurement Verdicts and Settlements
Illinois does not cap damages for disfigurement in most personal injury cases. Jury verdicts for severe burn disfigurement regularly reach into the millions of dollars, particularly when:
- The burns affect the face or other highly visible areas
- The victim is young
- Multiple surgeries were required
- The defendant’s conduct was particularly careless or reckless
Every case is different. The value of your disfigurement claim depends on the specific facts of your situation.
Types of Accidents That Cause Disfiguring Burns
Disfiguring burns result from many types of accidents:
- Car and truck accidents involving fires
- Construction site accidents
- Workplace chemical or electrical burns
- Apartment and building fires
- Defective product incidents
- Gas explosions
Contact a Chicago Burn Injury and Disfigurement Lawyer
If you have permanent scars from a burn injury caused by someone else’s negligence, you deserve compensation that reflects the full impact on your life. Phillips Law Offices understands the physical, emotional, and financial toll of burn disfigurement. We fight to make sure our clients receive every dollar they are owed.
Learn about what to look for when hiring a lawyer for your burn injury case.
Call Phillips Law Offices at (312) 346-4262 or contact us online for a free consultation.