The injuries somebody suffers in a car accident, dog bite attack or similar traumatic incidents can lead to massive medical expenses. Large insurance claims and personal injury lawsuits can start because one person gets hurt by someone else or while visiting a business.
Often, people talking about personal injury claims focus on life-threatening conditions because they perceive them to be the most serious. However, injuries can change someone’s life without endangering their survival. Disfiguring injuries can change someone’s relationships, mental health and even their income.
Securing treatment for disfiguring injuries can often be quite expensive, but it will be even more costly when the person coping with injuries that alter their appearance is a child. Why are disfiguring injuries often more expensive for children than for adults?
They require care from a specialist
Plastic surgeons and those who specialize in reconstructive surgery often charge quite a bit for a consultation or treatment. Pediatric specialists require even more education and can face particularly expensive malpractice lawsuits, which allows them to charge even more than the average plastic surgeon does.
Given that small mistakes when handling a visible wound on a child can lead to lifetime scars, it is likely worth it to have someone with an appropriately-specialized education treat a child’s disfiguring injuries or any wound to their face or neck.
Children may require repeated treatments
Most cosmetic or reconstructive procedures require a single treatment, even if there is a lengthy recovery process afterward. Children aren’t so fortunate and may need to undergo multiple revision procedures after their first surgery.
A child’s developing body may place stress on scar tissue and require numerous additional surgeries as they grow older to minimize their pain and preserve their appearance. Depending on the location of the injury and its severity, a child or adolescent recovering from a very visible wound may need to have ongoing procedures every few years until they finally stop growing.
Your family needs to have a realistic understanding of what those injuries will cost to fully treat so that you can negotiate for the compensation your family requires. Learning more about factors that complicate personal injury claims, like the age of the person affected, can help you better handle the consequences of a disfiguring injury affecting one of your children.