Lilian approached me after she was burnt by hot wax at a local beauty salon.
Cause:
Lilian had never been to this salon before but was keen to have some facial hair removed before attending a wedding. She chose a facial waxing treatment to remove the hair and was assured that all would be well. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The beauty therapist did not check the temperature of the wax and disregarded Lilian’s comments that her face was burning.
Impact:
When the wax strips were removed Lilian was horrified to discover that she had significant burns over her face and chin. Lilian wisely took photographs of the injury to her face and sent these to me.
What we did:
I felt that the therapist was certainly negligent in that she had not tested the temperature of the wax prior to applying it to my client’s face. I arranged for Lilian to be seen by an specialist doctor who examined her and concluded that she had suffered a burn injury as a result of the hot wax. The burns were significant enough to warrant bringing an action against the salon concerned.
Unfortunately, Lilian was left with darkened areas of skin on her face and although these would fade over time, the hyper pigmentation made her feel self-conscious and unhappy.
The salon did not respond at all to my letters of claim so I issued county court proceedings. The salon decided not to fight the matter however they did require that a judge assess my client’s claim and decide how much compensation she was to receive.
The judge awarded my client the sum of £4,150.00 in damages. Needless to say Lilian was overjoyed with the result.