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Under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act, an individual who has suffered any serious and permanent disfigurement (scarring) while in the course of employment may be entitled to recover damages from his or her employer. In general, permanent scars appearing on the hand, head, face, neck, arm, leg below the knee or the chest above the breast line will be recoverable. In order to visualize this, imagine an individual wearing knee-length shorts and a v-neck t-shirt. Any permanent scarring visible under these circumstances will generally be recoverable under Illinois law, and any scarring hidden by clothing (i.e., on the torso below the breast line and the leg above the knee) will not be recoverable for disfigurement. It is important to remember, however, that injuries to these "clothed" areas may entitle an injured employee to some other form of damages—just not for disfigurement.

The most common form of damages for work-related injuries are referred to as permanent partial disability damages, which deal with an individual’s physical ability to perform work-related duties. Often, permanent partial disability damages are available in cases where disfigurement damages are not, and vice versa. In Illinois, the right to recover for a permanent partial disability does not necessarily prevent recovery for disfigurement. When an employee receives two injuries, one of which physically disables him and the otherwhich permanently scars him, he may be entitled to compensation for the incapacity and the disfigurement. This would be the case if, say, a forklift crushed an employee’s left leg while also leaving scars on his right arm. When, however, an employee is disabled and disfigured by the same injury, he is not entitled to recover compensation for the disfigurement.

The amount of recovery for a disfigurement injury is determined either by agreement at any time between the employer and employee or by negotiations taking place at least 6 months after the date of the employee’s injury. This time period is necessary in order to ensure that the scarring caused by the injury can be considered "permanent" under Illinois law. The maximum disfigurement benefit for injuries sustained prior to 02/01/06 is 150 weeks (of disability benefits?) and the maximum benefit for injuries occurring after that date is 162 weeks. The visible severity of scarring may be taken into account when awarding damages and is typically determined not by a predetermined formula, but by a visual assessment of the scarring conducted by those parties and attorneys involved in each case. Factors such as raised, or "keloid," scarring may therefore result in increased damage recovery. Similarly, the location of scarring may play a role in determining the amount of recovery available, with permanent scarring to the face being considered the most serious and entitled to the greatest compensation.

Unlike most Illinois work injury cases, when you have a scar your medical records don’t play a huge role in determining what your case is worth. Rather it’s typical that your attorney and the insurance company attorney will meet with you and the Arbitrator will make a recommendation as to what the scar is worth. It’s fairly subjective in general as it’s difficult to compare one case to another.

Does this sound confusing? It can be. The good news is that if you have any general questions or would like a law firm recommendation you can contact us at any time. Our staff of attorneys will speak to you for free and in confidence.