£21,250 awarded for hair salon scalp burns

In March 2011 a 20 year old female received by way of an out of Court settlement over £21,000.00 as a result of injuries sustained for chemical burns to her scalp after visiting a salon.

Injury details

At the age of 18 the claimant went to the defendant's hair salon to have highlights put into her hair.

Almost immediately after the highlighting foils and solution were applied to her head she began to feel a burning sensation at the back of her head. She called over the hair stylist and demanded that the foils be removed and the solution washed out.

During the washing process the claimant noticed clumps of hair in the basin.

Her mother came to the salon and as they were leaving she noticed a small red patch on her daughter's head and that blistering was occurring.

In the 7 days following this incident she went to her GP twice. Her scalp was painful and the hair loss was continuing and the doctor told her that this had been caused because the solution added to her hair by the salon had caused chemical burns. The doctor suggested a course of antibiotics.

Because things got no better her GP, some 2 weeks following the incident, suggested that the claimant should go to a specialist burns unit because by then the wound had become much larger and hair was falling out at an alarming rate. At this specialist unit she underwent a skin graft with tissue being taken from elsewhere on her body and placed on her scalp.

This procedure left her with a bald patch where the hair was not going to re-grow and as a result she had to go through a further medical procedure to remove the skin graft that would nevertheless have left her with a small scar at the back of her head.

In addition to these physical injuries this young lady also was suffering with problems relating to her self image and confidence and a medical expert diagnosed a mild adjustment disorder and it was suggested and she accepted the need to attend cognitive behavioural therapy sessions in the hope that these problems could be resolved.

Solicitors were instructed by her to issue proceedings against the hair salon and before the Court date a settlement was reached in which she received £14,000.00 for her pain and suffering and a further sum of £7,250.00 for the financial losses that she had and would incur in respect of medical costs.

Disclaimer

Case studies are for informational purposes only and aim to help prospective claimants understand the injury claim process. They are based on cases handled by Quittance panel solicitors or sourced from public court records.

Author:
Gaynor Haliday, Legal researcher

About the author

Gaynor Haliday is an experienced legal researcher and published author. She has had numerous articles published in the press and is a legal industry commentator.