A visit to a beauty salon can relax you, improve your looks, and give you a general feeling of well-being. Many beauty salons offer a wide range of beauty treatment services, and some of them require using products with chemical ingredients and specialised equipment, such as laser machines.
Often, you are confident that you will receive a high level of care because you are visiting the salon that you patronise the most. But accidents in the salon do happen, and a mistake can occur that will lead to an injury. If and when it happens, your first thought would likely be if it is possible to sue the salon for the damage.
If the injury is minor, it is better to talk with the salon owner and settle the issue between you and the therapist or the salon operator. However, if you suffered a significant injury, it is better to seek assistance from a specialist solicitor to ensure that you can prepare for your case appropriately. If you need expert and professional legal assistance, visit http://shireslaw.com.
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Things you need to know about beauty treatment injury claims
The range of beauty treatments you can receive from a beauty salon varies. You can have common treatments like nail enhancements and hair dyeing. Some treatments require training and the use of specialised equipment, from eyebrow shaping, microblading, laser hair removal, hair enhancements, facial treatments, and so on. You expect that you will be satisfied with the results of the treatment you want.
Today, salons offer more beauty treatments, including minor cosmetic processes. You can receive tanning and spray tanning, nail treatments from nail bars, laser skin treatments, microdermabrasion, Botox, lip fillers, and even body art. Some of these procedures can be done during a person’s lunch break.
But accidents do happen due to lack of training, faulty equipment, lack of concentration, a mistake in solution preparation, or over-processing the treatment. It can be a traumatic experience, and you are likely entitled to compensation. To be sure, you should consider getting a personal injury attorney.
Calculating the injury compensation
The claim involves many intricacies that can affect the calculation. For example, some injuries have underlying circumstances that the solicitor must consider. Further, the solicitor will include your physical and emotional suffering into the equation.
Often, the solicitor will include various factors that fall under two categories.
1. General damages. You would be in pain if you were scarred from laser hair removal or a burn to your scalp due to hair bleaching. The physical injury will be part of the claim for general damages.
2. Special damages. The solicitor will include special damages, such as the financial hardships you suffered due to the injury, which can consist of these things:
- Cost of care- The cost of care may not be directly related to the injury, but because of it, you have to pay someone to take care of your children. You may also need someone to help you because you cannot do things yourself.
- Loss of wages- You may need to take time off work to recuperate or because you suffer from depression after the injury. Whatever the case, you are likely to lose income, which you can include in your claim. If the injury directly affects your work, you might also be entitled to file a claim for future earning losses if you are a model, presenter, celebrity, brand ambassador, etc.
- Travel expenses- If you have to travel for regular medical treatments as a result of the injury, the solicitor will include this, too.
- Medical expenses- If you have out-of-pocket expenses for medical treatment related to your beauty treatment injury, including medical fees, prescriptions, and counselling services, they might be included in the claim.
Common types of beauty treatment injuries
While some beauty-salon related injuries are preventable, there are times when something unexpected happens. For example, there are occasions when the therapist loses concentration, lacks experience or training in using a piece of special equipment, a mistake in preparing the chemical solution, improper maintenance of equipment, or other situations that can cause a significant injury.
Some of the injuries that commonly occur in a beauty salon include the following:
- Injuries from waxing treatments
- Allergic reactions to beauty products and treatments
- Adverse reactions to hair treatment solutions
- Infections and cuts from various treatments
- Muscle injuries due to wrong massage treatments
- Adverse reactions to cosmetic treatments
- Injuries from sunbed and spray tans
- Laser beauty treatment injuries
Generally, professional and licensed beauty salons take extra care to ensure that their employees are adequately trained and use beauty equipment and safe products. Still, even if the injuries are not that common, they can occur at times.
If the professional therapist fails to inform you of the risks associated with the treatment and an injury occurred, you can sue the therapist for negligence.
You can suffer from chemical burns from bleach and hair dye on your scalp. Likewise, your skin can burn from applying wax that is too hot. Chemical peels are quite risky, and only appropriately trained and experienced beauty therapists should handle them. Many people opt for eyelash extensions instead of wearing false eyelashes, which can be cumbersome. This beauty treatment also needs expertise and training because a wrong move can lead to bacterial infection or scratched cornea.
What to do if something goes wrong with the treatment
If you feel that you have a case to file a claim, here are the things you should do:
- Report the incident to the salon operator or management
- Make a record of the treatments you received and the amount you paid
- Keep every receipt and relevant paperwork
- Seek medical attention immediately after the injury
- Take photographs of the injuries and make a record of where and how the injury happened
- Get in touch with a solicitor specialising in handling beauty treatment injury claims
Your window to claim for beauty treatment injury is three years from when the accident occurred. However, it is better to start the claim early so the incident is still fresh in your mind and evidence are easier to collect. Ensure that you collect all the evidence available to strengthen your claim. Further, choose a law firm with a high success record in handling beauty treatment injury claims.