Facial injuries occupy a specific and somewhat complex area of the Judicial College Guidelines. The face carries disproportionate weight for identity and self-image, and JCG recognises that: facial scarring has its own separate (and often higher) bracket, young female claimants with disfiguring facial injuries attract more generous figures, and dental injury is valued alongside maxillofacial fracture but often runs parallel to a clinical-negligence claim where dental treatment is involved.
JCG 17th edition (April 2024) categorises facial injury into: fractures (cheekbone / zygoma, nose, jaw - mandible and maxilla), facial disfigurement / scarring, and damage to teeth. Each is valued separately and claims commonly combine two or more. The mass of a serious facial injury claim is often driven by the psychological overlay and the scarring bracket rather than by the fracture itself - which is why a competent valuation assessment takes all the strands together.
Casibus works with SRA-regulated personal injury specialists on a no win, no fee basis. Every case depends on its evidence.
JCG 17th edition facial injury brackets
Fractures of the cheekbone (zygoma)
Serious fractures requiring surgery with lasting consequences (paraesthesia, facial-nerve symptoms, residual deformity) sit in the mid to high four-figure range. Simple fractures with complete recovery sit in the low four-figures.
Fractures of the nose or nasal complex
Serious or multiple fractures requiring several operations and/or with permanent deformity / breathing difficulty: low five-figures. Displaced fractures with near-complete recovery after manipulation: low four-figures. Simple undisplaced fractures: low to mid four-figures.
Fractures of jaws
Very serious multiple fractures requiring prolonged treatment and with permanent consequences (eating difficulties, paraesthesia): mid five-figures to low six-figures. Less serious fractures with rapid surgery and good recovery: mid four-figures to low five-figures.
Damage to teeth
JCG separates dental injury into loss of / damage to several front teeth (mid four-figures), two front teeth (low four-figures), one front tooth (low four-figures), and back teeth (low four-figures per tooth). Long-term costs of bridges, crowns and implants often drive the special-damages element.
Facial disfigurement / scarring
See scarring claims for the fuller treatment. JCG separates facial scarring into: very severe (young claimants - usually under 30 - with very disfiguring scars and severe psychological reaction): mid-to-upper five-figures to low six-figures. Less severe: low-to-mid five-figures. Significant scarring, less significant scarring and trivial scarring run down from there.
Common clinical patterns we see
- Zygomatic / orbital fracture - dashboard / steering wheel impact, fall-onto-face, assault; often treated with ORIF by maxillofacial surgery.
Routes to a face injury claim
- RTA - steering wheel / dashboard / airbag impact; motorcycle / cycling crash; pedestrian knockdown. See road traffic accidents.
Psychological overlay - why JCG makes the uplift
Facial injury - particularly scarring and disfigurement - regularly produces significant psychological sequelae: depression, anxiety, social avoidance, body dysmorphic disorder, PTSD. JCG recognises this explicitly in the facial scarring bracket by providing higher figures for 'very severe scarring in relatively young claimants where a severe psychological reaction causes a significant problem'. The psychological overlay is proved with consultant psychiatrist evidence and often increases the overall valuation well above the fracture bracket alone. See psychological injury.
Special damages in face / dental claims
- Maxillofacial / plastic / ENT surgery - private where NHS waits delay reconstruction.