Visible scarring and disfigurement can have major medico-legal consequences, especially where psychological impact, permanence, or reconstructive need affects quantum. In this focused session, Professor Steven Jeffery outlines how to assess scarring severity, avoidability, prognosis, and long-term outcomes in personal injury and clinical negligence claims.

About the Speaker

Prof Steven Jeffery - Consultant Plastic Surgeon

With over 30 years of clinical experience and 25 years as a medico-legal expert, Professor Steven Jeffery is one of the UK’s most recognised plastic surgery expert witnesses. A former full-career military plastic surgeon and Professor of Burns & Plastic Surgery, he now serves as Chief Medical Officer for the Pioneer Wound Healing & Lymphoedema Centres. He provides around 250 reports per year, specialising in:

• Burns and scald injuries
• Traumatic wounds and contour deformity
• Scarring, pigmentation changes & tethering
• Revision surgery, prognosis and reconstructive outcomes
• Non-accidental injury assessment

His evidence is known for being clear, practical, and firmly grounded in clinical reality.

Webinar Key Themes

• How to assess scar severity, permanence and evolution - including firmness, tethering, visibility at distance, divots, dog-ears, and pincushioning.

• Avoidable vs inevitable scarring - healing timelines, burn depth, misinterpreted terminology, and when scarring arises from care rather than trauma.

• Psychological impact in quantum - why embarrassment, self-image disturbance and social judgement must be explicitly recorded.

• Expert approaches to prognosis & revision - silicone therapy, massage, steroid injections, laser therapy, Z-plasty, fat transfer and when revision is (and is not) warranted.

• Distinguishing scars from blemishes - pigmentation vs scar tissue and why this matters for prognosis and valuation.

Read the full medico-legal article here >