Facial Injuries and Scarring in Truck Accidents

How Facial Injuries Happen in Truck Crashes

Facial trauma in a truck collision comes from three sources: contact with interior surfaces, penetration by glass or debris, and in underride crashes, direct intrusion into the space the occupant’s head occupies.

That last mechanism is why underride produces such distinctive facial injuries. When the impact arrives at windshield height rather than at bumper height, the airbag and crumple zone never engage, and the trailer bed meets the passenger compartment where the occupant’s head is.

• Facial fractures — orbital, nasal, maxillary, mandibular, and complex mid-face fractures
• Lacerations — from glass and interior components, often deep and irregular
• Dental trauma — fractured or avulsed teeth, requiring implants and long-term restorative work
• Eye injuries — including vision loss from penetrating trauma or orbital fracture
• Nerve damage — producing numbness or, where the facial nerve is involved, loss of expression and muscle control
• Burns — where fire is involved; see Burn Injuries

Facial injuries also frequently accompany brain injury, because the forces that damage the face are transmitted to the skull. Any significant facial trauma warrants neurological evaluation alongside the visible injury.

There is a further reason facial injuries are undervalued early. Emergency treatment prioritises airway, bleeding, and fracture stabilisation, and the record from that period describes what was life-threatening rather than what will be permanent. A person discharged with fractures stabilised and lacerations closed may have a chart that says very little about the appearance and function they will actually live with. The documentation that matters for a claim is built afterward, over months, by surgeons and treating clinicians who assess the result rather than the emergency.

Why Reconstruction Takes Years

Facial reconstruction is rarely a single operation. Initial surgery stabilises fractures and closes wounds; the appearance and function that result are addressed afterward, in stages, once tissue has healed and scars have matured.

Scars change substantially over roughly two years, and revision procedures are typically deferred until that process is complete. Dental restoration follows its own timeline, with implants requiring healing before final restoration. Where nerve damage is involved, recovery — if it happens — is slow and may be incomplete.

The practical consequence for a claim is direct: settling before the reconstructive course is understood means signing a release that cannot be reopened when further procedures prove necessary. This is the most common and most costly mistake in this category.

Published By

Shiner Law Group, P.A.

Founded by David I. Shiner, Esq. · AV Preeminent® rated · Florida Bar member since 2002

Shiner Law Group was founded by David I. Shiner, Esq., a Nova Southeastern University law graduate, a member of The Florida Bar since 2002, and AV Preeminent® rated by Martindale-Hubbell. The firm represents injured people across Florida from offices in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Pierce, Orlando, Wellington, and Belle Glade, and handles truck accident cases on contingency: free consultations, and no fee unless there is a recovery.

The firm works to keep this information current and consistent. Spotted something wrong? Email joseph@shinerlawgroup.com and we will fix it. About this site →

Disfigurement Under Florida Law

Facial injury claims occupy unusual ground in Florida’s no-fault system. Fla. Stat. § 627.737 permits recovery of non-economic damages where there is permanent injury, death, or significant and permanent scarring or disfigurement.

Disfigurement is therefore a basis in its own right. A person whose facial scarring is permanent and significant may meet the threshold on that ground alone, without needing to establish functional impairment. That reflects a straightforward reality: the harm of a permanently altered face is not primarily about what it prevents you doing.

Documenting it properly:

• A dated photographic sequence from initial injury through each stage of treatment and on through scar maturation over two years
• Photographs under ordinary lighting and from the angles at which the scarring is normally seen
• Surgeon’s prognosis on the expected final appearance and any further procedures anticipated
• Functional deficits recorded separately — vision, chewing, speech, sensation, expression
• Psychological treatment in the record, since visible disfigurement carries documented psychological consequences
• Practical and occupational impact, particularly where work is public-facing

Other Florida rules apply as elsewhere: PIP under § 627.736 with the 14-day deadline, comparative negligence under § 768.81, and the two-year limitations period for claims arising after March 24, 2023 (Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(a)).

What to Do After a Facial Injury

1. Get medical care immediately — Florida’s PIP statute (Fla. Stat. § 627.736) requires initial treatment within 14 days to access your $10,000 in benefits.
2. Begin a dated photographic record immediately, and continue through treatment and scar maturation.
3. Ask for neurological evaluation alongside facial treatment, since brain injury frequently accompanies facial trauma.
4. Get a written prognosis on further procedures and expected final appearance.
5. Record functional deficits separately from appearance — vision, chewing, speech, and sensation.
6. Include psychological care in treatment and in the record.
7. Do not settle before reconstruction is complete and scars have matured.
8. Do not give a recorded statement to the trucking company’s insurer before speaking with an attorney.

See What to Do After a Truck Accident for the full sequence.

Facial Injury and Scarring FAQ