Your skin is a seamless organ and any trauma to it can cause scarring. A Pennsylvania car accident injury is a perfect example of how scarring can occur, states Bucks County personal injury lawyer Michael L. Saile, Jr. Scarring is not often one of the lasting injuries we think we may have to endure after a PA or NJ accident, but it is a reality due to the likelihood of cuts or gashes sustained from broken glass during a Philadelphia area accident, car fire, or from surgery necessary to treat your serious car accident injury. If you are fortunate, your accident injury scarring will be small and almost unnoticeable, but your scarring could also be significant and might make you feel self-conscious.
Scars form as a reaction to your body healing from the initial injury. There are a few factors that will determine how your skin scars and will impact the characteristic of the scar:
- Depth of the wound;
- Size of the wound;
- Location of the wound on your body;
- Age;
- Heredity; and
- Ethnicity.
There are three types of scarring injuries that you could experience after a car accident.
- Keloid scars. These scars occur as the result of an overly aggressive healing process and the continuous production of collagen after the wound has healed. They often extend beyond the original injury site. It is possible that these scars can affect your mobility as they tend to be thick, large, and sometimes painful. Treatment options include surgical removal and/or steroid injections. Smaller scars of this type can be treated using a freezing technology with liquid nitrogen. To prevent this type of scarring, apply pressure treatment with silicone gel pads after you suffer the injury.
- Contracture scars. If a fire was part of your car accident and you suffered burns, this is the type of scar that you might experience. This type of scar causes tightening of the skin that can impair your mobility. The reason is because this scar can go deeper than the injury and affect your muscles and nerves.
- Hypertrophic scars. These are similar to keloid scars in that they look similar, but hypertrophic scars do not go beyond the original injury. This scar will look raised and red with a possible treatment being steroid injections to reduce inflammation.
For all three types of scars there are ways that the scars can be treated.
- Over-the-counter or prescription creams, ointments or gels. This type of treatment can reduce any itching or swelling of the scar.
- Surgical removal or treatment. This is a great option for treatment of a deeper scar. Skin grafts, dermabrasion or laser surgery can treat your scar.
- Injections. Usually of steroids, this treatment can be the most recommended for keloid and hypertrophic scars.
If your scarring injury from your Bucks County car accident is physically impairing you, speak to a PA personal injury lawyer to gain information about filing a claim. Medical compensation could be awarded to you if the circumstances allow. To speak to an experienced PA & NJ personal injury lawyer, call Cordisco & Saile LLC today. You may also educate yourself by reading our PA car accident book. Order your FREE copy.
