Find a lawyer for scars and disfigurement in Glendale, Arizona: why timing matters
Expect a scar to need 12 to 18 months before it matures. Settling before then can mean settling before anyone knows how it will look. Arizona juries may weigh disfigurement in a claim. You generally have 2 years to sue, and 180 days to give notice if a city or public body caused the injury.
Last checked November 9, 2026 · Official sources (33)
Should I settle a scar claim in Glendale before the scar heals?
Usually not. Maturing takes a scar roughly 12 to 18 months. Until then, the color, thickness and shape keep changing. A scar often looks thicker, pinker, redder or shinier than the skin around it.
An insurer may offer money early, before the final look is clear. A settlement usually closes the claim for good. Ask your doctor what the scar is likely to look like, and when that can be known.
The legal clock keeps running while you wait. Generally you have 2 years to sue. A child's time under 18 may not count toward the deadline.
What should I photograph and write down about a scar?
- Take photos the day of the injury, before bandages if you can, and again at every visit.
- Use the same light and distance each time, with a coin or ruler for size.
- Date every photo. Keep the originals.
- Write what it feels like: itching, tightness, trouble moving, pain in cold or sun.
- Note what the scar changed in your life, such as a job in front of customers or a swimsuit you avoid.
After a burn, scar tissue can limit movement, which doctors call contracture. Tell your doctor if you notice tightness.
What treatments exist, and do they change the claim?
Options include surgical revision, dermabrasion, laser, injections, chemical peels and creams. Each is a possible cost in your claim, so ask for a written plan with prices.
Treatment is not always safe for every scar. Keloids, a raised type of scar, can grow larger after treatment, especially surgery. A keloid will tan darker than nearby skin if it gets sun in its first year. Revising a scar too early, before it matures, gives poor results.
Who pays for a scar from a Glendale injury?
| How you were scarred | Who may pay | Local step |
|---|---|---|
| Dog bite | The owner, even if the dog was never mean before | Report to Animal Services, 623-930-3212 |
| Burn | A property owner, landlord or maker, depending on cause | Arizona Burn Center care, Phoenix |
| Crash | At-fault driver's insurer; most policies must pay at least $25,000 per person | Glendale Police report |
| City property | City of Glendale | Notice in 180 days |
| On the job | Workers' comp, no matter who was at fault | Form 407 |
Workers' comp has a separate payment for permanent disfigurement of the head or face. Ask the Industrial Commission how it applies to you. Glendale has no office of its own, so use the Phoenix office at 800 W. Washington St.
What if a dog bite in Glendale left a scar?
Call the Animal Services Hotline at 623-930-3212 to report a bite. The county's first step is to seek medical care if needed and take photos of the injuries. In the county's definition, a bite injury is one where the teeth broke the skin.
The county's call center for bite reports is 602-506-7387. A bite claim may fall under a one-year deadline, so treat one year as the safe limit. If the county issues no citation, you can still seek money as a civil matter.
What can a scarring claim cover?
Arizona juries are told to weigh past and probable future medical costs, lost earnings, and past and future pain, disability, disfigurement and anxiety. Because the constitution bars caps, no cap on scar or disfigurement damages applies in Maricopa County.
Money from a physical injury settlement is generally not taxed, unless you deducted the medical costs on an earlier return. Settlement terms are often not public, so be careful with quoted averages.
Questions
Is a facial scar treated differently?
In workers' comp, yes: the law lists head and face disfigurement separately. In other claims, juries weigh disfigurement as part of the whole.
Can I claim a scar I can hide under clothes?
Yes. Disfigurement and the pain and anxiety it causes can count even if it is not on your face.
Does the claim end when I stop treatment?
No, but the deadline keeps running. Generally 2 years to sue.
Scars and disfigurement in Glendale? See if you are owed money.
A free case review. $0 upfront. No fee unless you win.
See if I’m owed moneySources (33)
- PubMed Central (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “it takes around 12-18 months for the scar to mature”
- Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Civil), Personal Injury Damages 1, checked 2026-11-09. “The pain, discomfort, suffering, disability, disfigurement, and anxiety already experienced, and reasonably probable to be experienced in the future.”
- A.R.S. § 12-542, checked 2026-11-08. “within two years after the cause of action accrues”
- A.R.S. § 12-821.01, checked 2026-11-08. “within one hundred eighty days after the cause of action accrues”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Scars usually fade over time but never go away completely.”
- PubMed Central (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “scar revision will improve and not erase the scar”
- PubMed Central (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Immature scars are prone to hypertrophy and give poor results after scar revision.”
- Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, Victims' Rights, checked 2026-11-08. “A dog bite is defined as an injury where the dog's teeth have broken skin on a person.”
- Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, Victims' Rights, checked 2026-11-08. “Seek medical attention if necessary, and take photos of any injuries.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Scars are often thicker, as well as pinker, redder, or shinier, than the rest of your skin.”
- A.R.S. § 12-502, checked 2026-11-08. “the period of such disability shall not be deemed a portion of the period limited for commencement of the action”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “Scarring after traumatic injury or burns”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “These include surgical revision, dermabrasion, laser treatments, injections, chemical peels, and creams.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “These treatments, especially surgery, sometimes cause the keloid scar to become larger.”
- MedlinePlus (NIH), checked 2026-11-09. “A keloid will tan darker than the skin around it if exposed to the sun during the first year after it forms.”
- A.R.S. § 11-1025(A), checked 2026-11-08. “The owner of a dog that bites a person when the person is in or on a public place or lawfully in or on a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, is liable for damages suffered by the person bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's knowledge of its viciousness.”
- City of Glendale, Animal Information, checked 2026-11-08. “Please call our Animal Services Hotline at 623-930-3212 to report all healthy stray dogs, a dog or cat bite, or a vicious dog.”
- A.R.S. 12-681, checked 2026-11-09. “means any action brought against a manufacturer or seller of a product for damages for bodily injury, death or property damage”
- Valleywise Health, Burn Center, checked 2026-11-09. “first and only adult and pediatric burn center in Arizona verified by the American Burn Association and the American College of Surgeons”
- A.R.S. § 28-4009(A)(2)(b), checked 2026-11-08. “(i) $25,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident. (ii) Subject to the limit for one person, $50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident. (iii) $15,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident.”
- Glendale Police, Public Records Request, checked 2026-11-08. “To obtain a copy of a Traffic Accident or Incident Report fill out an online records request form”
- Industrial Commission of Arizona, General Information, checked 2026-11-08. “you receive medical and compensation benefits no matter who caused the job-related accident.”
- Industrial Commission of Arizona, Injured Worker, checked 2026-11-08. “Worker's Report of Injury Form - 407”
- A.R.S. § 23-1044, checked 2026-11-09. “For permanent disfigurement about the head or face, including injury to or loss of teeth”
- Industrial Commission of Arizona, Worker's Report of Injury, checked 2026-11-08. “Phoenix: 800 W Washington St, Phoenix AZ 85007 - Phone: (602) 542-4661”
- Maricopa County, Our Field Team, checked 2026-11-08. “You or your pet are the victim(s) of a dog bite or attack? Contact the Call Center (602-506-7387) or submit an online report”
- A.R.S. § 12-541(5), checked 2026-11-08. “There shall be commenced and prosecuted within one year after the cause of action accrues, and not afterward, the following actions: [...] 5. Upon a liability created by statute, other than a penalty or forfeiture.”
- Maricopa County Animal Care and Control, Victims' Rights, checked 2026-11-08. “If no citations are issued: MCACC ends the investigation and the victim can choose to seek restitution as a civil matter.”
- Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Civil), Personal Injury Damages 1, checked 2026-11-09. “Reasonable expenses for necessary medical care, treatment, and services already incurred and reasonably probable to be incurred in the future.”
- Revised Arizona Jury Instructions (Civil), Personal Injury Damages 1, checked 2026-11-09. “Lost earnings to date, and any decrease in earning power or capacity in the future.”
- Ariz. Const. art. 18, § 6, checked 2026-11-09. “the amount recovered shall not be subject to any statutory limitation”
- IRS Publication 4345, checked 2026-11-09. “did not take an itemized deduction for medical expenses related to the injury or sickness in prior years, the full amount is non-taxable”
- U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Civil Bench and Jury Trials in State Courts, 2005, checked 2026-11-09. “The terms of settlement agreements and other key information for civil cases resolved prior to trial may not be reported to the court or may not be publicly available.”