Our client, Mrs J, visited a salon in central London for a full head colour treatment. Her hair was approximately 60cm long and in great condition. Mrs J noticed that something was wrong with her treatment before she had even left the chair. Her hair was snapping and coming out in clumps. The stylist told her this was normal following the application of bleach, but Mrs J knew this wasn’t true and already the blisters were starting to form on the back of her ears and on her scalp.
By the time she had got home, Mrs J’s scalp and ears were causing her significant pain and the blisters were beginning to ooze. She visited her GP who prescribed a course of anti-biotics.
Over the course of the following weeks, the pain subsided and the blisters healed but our client’s hair remained in a poor condition. She sought the help of other hairdressers and applied various specialist treatments, including Olaplex, to help improve the hair’s condition, but with limited results.
A year after the incident her hair was still in bad shape, and she had grown angry about the way she had been treated. She contacted us for help. We immediately passed her case to our specialist hairdressing claims solicitors at LLB Solicitors. They spoke with her and agreed to take the claim on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.
LLB Solicitors arranged for Mrs J to be seen by a specialist Trichologist who examined her in person and reviewed the photographs she had taken which documented her experience. The Trichologist confirmed that the chemical burns to her scalp and the ongoing hair breakage had been caused by the hairdresser’s negligent application of the bleaching agent. In his professional opinion, it would take up to 5 years for all the damage to grow out.
LLB Solicitors presented the claim to the hairdressers’ insurance company and after some discussion they accepted responsibility for the injury and offered Mrs J £5,000.00 in compensation. This was insufficient given the severity of the damage to our client’s hair, which had caused her significant psychological distress. Her solicitor arranged for her to been seen by a clinical psychologist, who subsequently confirmed the impact the incident had had on Mrs J’s self-esteem, causing her real anxiety and a depressed mood which had at times affected her ability to work. After much negotiation the case was concluded without the need for court proceedings in the sum of £13,000.00.
Whilst our client was very happy with the compensation she recovered; she would have much preferred it if the incident had never occurred. This reinforces the importance of performing strand and patch tests and the value of using an experienced hairdresser whenever chemical products are in use. It also stands as a reminder to hairdressers to not only work hard to avoid causing unnecessary injury, but also the importance of insurance. Had the stylist not been insured, they would have been personally liable to pay our client’s claim.
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If you have suffered an injury caused by a hairdresser please contact us today for a free no obligation discussion. You can call us on 0333 202 6560 or 0800 141 3682, email us at enquiries@hairdressingclaims.co.uk or complete the contact us form.