Head on Injury - lifting the lid on minor scarring

Helping you play chicken with a most extreme case (CLA NSW)

An 8 year old child sustained injury to her right upper eyelid when her eye came into contact with a metal rail displaying children’s apparel.?

The plaintiff was taken to hospital for multilayer full thickness reattachment surgery with the insertion of a tear duct stent, under general anaesthetic. The stent was removed as a day surgery procedure.? There was evidence of a possibility that further surgical improvement would be sought and also of a significant possibility that psychological assistance would be sought.?

The Court accepted, as a matter of common sense, that scarring to the face was prone to cause psychological issues including with confidence as persons move through puberty into early adulthood.? It was also accepted that the scarring was to the part of the face most in focus during the important amenities of life associated with communication, intimacy and self-perception including when looking in a mirror.?

Although declining to accept that the incident had given rise to a diagnosable psychiatric condition (there was evidence that it had), the Court did accept that the plaintiff’s demeanour and zest for life had been severely impacted, and awarded 25% of a most extreme case.

Chen v Kmart [2022] NSWDC 519