Facial Fractures & Injuries

Facial Fractures and Facial Injury Law Firm in Hamilton, Ontario

By Matt Lalande, Esq

Facial trauma or injuries, moreso “broken bones” in the face, occur in a significant proportion of trauma related car accident victims involved in head-on car or t-bone car accidents at high velocity. Normally facial trauma requires a very prompt diagnosis of all fractures and soft tissue injuries, with surgical intervention happening more often than not.

Have you suffered life-changing facial injuries?

If you or your loved one has suffered facial trauma, our Hamilton Personal Injury Lawyers can help you recover the settlement you deserve. Our Hamilton personal injury lawyer that have been serving victims with life changing injuries in the Hamilton area since 2003. We serve car accident victims and have clients from all over Ontario.

How do facial fractures typically happen?

Facial trauma is typically caused by car accidents or other types of motor vehicle collisions, sports injuries, assaults and falls. When facial fractures occur in a car accidents, typically the crashes are very severe, and at very high velocity – such as a high speed head-on collision.  When this happend, only one fracture may be present, or there can be several broken bones throughout the face and head.  Multiple fractures are more likely to occur in a car accident or other high-impact traumatic accident. Fractures may be occur only on one side of the face or bilaterally, (both sides of the face) which is notmally dependent on the type of crash (headon crash vs side impact car accidents).

The goal of personal injury law in Ontario is to seek justice by holding a wrongdoer responsible for the injuries he or she has caused to you and your family.

Seatbelts and airbags normally reduce facial fractures. Studies from the American Department of Transportation (DOT) have shown that both airbags and seatbelts were found to reduce the risk of sustaining a facial fracture by 74% in frontal impacts.  However, studies have also shown that victims tend to suffer facial fractures when involved in violent car accidents in excess of 65 km/h for both unbelted and belted occupants respectively.

What are common facial fractures and facial injuries that occur in severe car and truck accidents?

A study in 2001 of over 3,000 hospital Emergency room car accident patients found that the zygoma is the most frequently fractured facial bone (Hackle 2001). The zygoma is the bony arch of your check that forms the connection between your zygomatic and temporal bones. Other fractures that can occur in violent crashes, which we have seen, are:

Nasal Fractures – the nose or nasal bone is also a common fracture site in serious car accidents. It does not take much force to break the nasal bones, compared to other bones in the face because they are thin and protruding. Nasal fractures can be serious especially if the victim suffers a closed or open comminuted fracture(s) that require closed or open reduction surgery (when nasal injuries cannot be sufficiently managed with a closed reduction) or when it may be necessary to fix the nasal bones internally with plating or wires.

Forehead Fractures – forehead or frontal can be very serious. The frontal bone serves a protective role, representing the transition between the facial skeleton and the cranium. With significant blunt force trauma caused in a car accident, forehead fractures incurred by car accidents are more likely to result in associated head injury as well.   Studies have shown that in side impacts, the nasal bone was the least common bone fractured, and the frontal bone and jaw were the most frequently fractured bones.  Even more complicating is that the forehead or frontal bones protect the frontal sinus, which rest directly behind the forehead bones. Frontal sinus fractures represent 5 to 15% of all facial fractures and are most often the result of high velocity crashes. If the frontal sinus is damaged during the fracture of the forehead, reconstruction of the fractured segments may be necessary.

Cheekbone Fractures – The cheekbone forms part of the eye socket, both protecting the eyeball and supporting it from below. Your cheekbone is also linked to the side of the nose and the upper. If you suffer a fractured cheekbone, you may have required the bones to have been surgically reset or reconstructed. It is not uncommon for accident victims that fracture their cheekbones to also fracture their eye socket, upper jaw and nose as well.

Orbital Fractures – orbital fractures are traumatic injuries to the bones of the eye socket, either the bone around the eye (the thick bone around the orbital rim) or the very thin orbital floor beneath or on the sides of the eye. Often times reconstruction of the orbital bones are necessary after a traumatic event requiring bone anchored implants, bone graft, titanium mesh, plates, bone cement, and titanium screws. Many other permanent complications can occur with orbital fractures, such as damage or compression to the optic nerve, vision loss and facial scarring. Ultimately, when a car accident victim suffers blunt force trauma to the orbital bones, which in turn cause fractures, the goal is to avoid visual compromise and substantially recover as much vision as possible.

Le Fort Fractures – Le Fort fractures are horizontal fracture of the upper jawbone – often described as fractures of the mid face, normally involving the maxillary bone, or the bone that holds in the top teeth (the dental arch), orbital bones and cheekbones. Treatment of Le Fort fractures are normally always surgical and normally involves the internal fixation with titanium plates and screws. The most common cause of a Le Fort fracture is a direct blow to the face such as the dashboard or steering will, or other parts of the vehicle being crushed in.

Jaw Fractures – Jaw fractures, or mandible fractures, account for a very significant portion of facial injury after a car accident. Surgical management is normally required to prevent future complications. If the jaw cannot be set or has been seriously broken, reconstruction to realign the temporal mandibular joint and/or facial symmetry may be necessary, often times with bone grafting, bone transplantation, reconstruction plates, metal plates, titanium screws and pedicles or free flaps. More often than not, facial reconstruction will involve extensive scarring and dental rehabilitation.

Dental Fractures – Often times when the jaw suffer serious fractures, teeth are often lost or broken. Dental implants may be required, which will then play an important role in the rehabilitation of a car accident victims masticatory (chewing and biting) function.

Have you or your loved one suffered facial trauma in a serious accident?

Facial fractures are common in impacts with a frontal components such as a sterring wheel, the a-pillar (vertical supports of the window) the dashboard, or other parts of the vehicle which crushes the victim’s head and face in serious accidents. Although seatbelt use has clearly been noted to be the most effective way to reduce in occupants risk of sustaining a facial fracture (as well as airbags) if the accident is severe enough and at high velocity, these types of injuries are known to occur in with certain collisions, be quite unavoidable.

The goal of personal injury law in Ontario is to seek justice by holding a wrongdoer responsible for the injuries he or she has caused to you and your family.

If you or a loved one has suffered facial trauma, facial fractures, scarring, surgery, reconstruction, rehabilitation, dental reconstruction or any other type of facial injury, you have rights to compensation against the wrongdoer that caused your injuries.

If someone else has caused your accident, you may certainly be entitled to recover damages for non-economic and economic damages such as:

• pain and suffering, the loss of enjoyment of life and loss of amenities;
• damages for psychological pain and mental anguish are also recoverable. Many accident victims and their spouses often suffer from a lifetime of anxiety, depression, anger, embarrassment, disappointment and other life-changing psychological events.
• You are also entitled to claim economic damages such as your lost wages. If you are unable to work due to your facial trauma, then you will be entitled to recover your lost wages from the date of the accident to the date of the judgment or settlement, as well as future income losses until your date of expected retirement.
• You are also entitled to claim housekeeping damages. If you’re unable to maintain your home or you need to hire people to help maintain your home you are entitled to claim future damages to compensate you in order to hire appropriate help.
• You’re also entitled to claim other damages such as future care costs for your rehabilitation, cosmetic requirements, cosmetic surgeries, medications etc. if you have exhausted your accident benefits and you are not part of a group benefit plan. Most of the time, when people are seriously hurt, they are unable to continue working, which at this entitles them to group benefits after termination. You are entitled to claim these damages from the wrongdoer that caused the accident.

If you have suffered facial trauma, contact us for a free consultation.

If you have suffered serious injuries in a car accident,  feel free to schedule your free case review with one of Hamilton’s most experienced car accident lawyers. At Lalande Personal Injury Lawyers, we fight for the maximum payout possible to compensate you and your family. We understand that suffering serious injuries can cause a family to incur crushing debt and major financial losses. We ensure to leave no stone unturned and take your case to trial if necessary. Call us today at 905-333-8888 or chat with our live chat operator 24 seven who will be happy to assist you. We will endeavor to get back to you within several hours.