Scars, nerve damage, and the part of a dog-bite case you cannot see in week one

A puncture is a medical event. A scar is a social one. Dog-bite files that look “small” in the ER become large when a lip no longer meets, a hand will not close, or a child will not go to the park. Damages law has names for this. Insurers have discounts for people who settle before they know.

What to document besides the stitches

• Serial photographs in the same light, same distance, for months.
• Range of motion if a hand, wrist, or calf is involved.
• Numbness, tingling, dropping things — nerve language belongs in the medical chart, not just in your memory.
• A plastic surgeon’s opinion, even if you do not operate yet. Future revision is a number.

The categories

Medical bills (past and future), lost income, scarring and disfigurement, pain, and in some states emotional harm with a medical hook. Strict-liability statutes sometimes limit you to certain buckets (Colorado’s economic-damages limit is an example). That is why the state page is not academic.