Woman injured in hair salon receives £21,250 compensation

05/09/2011

A 20-year-old woman has been awarded £21,250 compensation after suffering a chemical burn to her scalp while having her hair coloured at a salon.

She needed to undergo a skin graft procedure and the hair in the affected area of her scalp will never grow back.

The incident happened when she went to a salon to have highlights put in her hair. It wasn’t the first time she had had highlights but it was the first time she had gone to that particular salon.

Before having highlights put in, it is important to have a patch test. However, the woman’s stylist did not carry out this procedure.  When the highlighting solution was applied to the woman’s hair, she immediately felt a burning sensation.

The manager inspected the woman’s hair and told her there was no problem. Later her mother noticed a red patch on her scalp.

She had to receive treatment at a specialist burns unit and undergo a number of skin graft operations. It also affected her psychologically. She became pre-occupied with her looks and her self esteem suffered.

The salon admitted liability and the woman was awarded £21,250 compensation in an out-of-court settlement.

 Please contact one of our accident compensation solicitors if you would like more information about making a personal injury claim.