If your hair or scalp has been damaged by your hairdresser, you’re entitled to make a personal injury claim against your salon.
The types of injuries that can befall you range from allergic reactions and chemical burns to heat damage and scarring from cuts and burns. Our earlier ‘Top 5 reasons to sue your hairdresser’ blog explains the main injuries constituting a hairdressing claim.
With the ‘why’ made clearer, exactly ‘how’ do you go about seeking compensation? To overcome any worries or feelings of overwhelm you may have at this time, here we outline the considerations to be borne in mind and actions to perform in launching a legal case:
Now: Understand your hairdresser’s obligations
To recognise when your hairdresser’s at fault, it’s important to know their duties and responsibilities. Quite simply, hairdressers have an obligation to protect their clients from injury, as well as keeping other salon visitors and staff out of harm’s way. There’s legislation in force to ensure safety at the hairdressing salon – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 amongst them.
In order to fulfil their duty of care, hairdressers must take measures such as testing electrical appliances routinely, cleaning surfaces and flooring regularly, handling and disposing of chemical substances properly, undergoing training in techniques and products thoroughly, checking the condition of your hair before embarking upon treatment, and insisting on patch and strand testing prior to applying potentially damaging creams and lotions.
Failure to execute any (or all!) of the aforementioned means that your hairdresser is guilty of negligence.
Next: Take essential preparatory steps to strengthen your legal claim
In basic terms, your activities immediately post-injury can significantly impact your ability to claim back the level of compensation you’re entitled to. To support your claim, make sure you take photographs, write a record of what’s happened and seek medical assistance by consulting a doctor where necessary. The more detailed your catalogue of events and inventory of supporting evidence, the more success can be assured.
For further reading on this vital stage in claims proceedings, go to our earlier ‘3-step plan to suing your hairdresser’ and ‘A step-by-step guide to the hairdressing claims process’ blogs.
Of course, there’s a possibility you may be reading this article after the event without any evidence having been gathered. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s too late to pursue a claim. No problem is insurmountable with the right legal expert behind you. Which takes us on to your final task…
Finally: Instruct a specialist law firm to begin your legal claim
With the foundations in place, contact a personal injury lawyer who specialises in claims against hairdressers. Your solicitor will assess the viability of your case on a no-obligation basis, will offer expert advice on what to do next and will represent you on ‘no win, no fee’ terms thereafter.
At Hairdressing Claims, we have years of experience helping individuals who’ve been let down by their hairdresser. As well as working closely with you, we provide access to the best trichologists, doctors and barristers so that you get the guidance you need for your case plan.
To get in touch with our Hairdressing Claims team in confidence, email enquiries@hairdressingclaims.co.uk, call 0800 141 3682 from a landline for free, phone 0333 202 6560 from a mobile or complete our online enquiry form.
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