All beauty salons have a duty of care to provide a reasonable level of safety to clients. It is the manager’s responsibility to take all necessary measures to prevent both staff and customer injuries, this includes ensuring that:
- all staff have adequate training
- staff use appropriate techniques to carry out the services
- the salon uses products that comply with European Union cosmetic product regulations
- the salon properly sterilises equipment
- appropriate safety measures are in place
- clients are informed of any risks prior to the service
Beauty salons are obliged to ask clients if they have any allergies and to perform a skin patch test before treatment where one is required.
This can help prevent severe reactions to beauty products. Customers should be provided with this test and its purpose should be explained. It’s important to acknowledge that sensitivity to tints and dyes can develop over time, so patch testing cannot prevent all injuries.
Common beauty salon injury claims*:
- side effects and injuries from Botox or fillers
- burns or skin tears from waxing
- skin damage or burns from laser treatment or intense pulse light (IPL)
- damaged hair or scalp from a poorly executed treatment
- excessive redness or swelling from eyelash tinting.
What to do if injured at a beauty salon:
1. Seek medical attention
If you have been injured, whether you suffered a cut, burn, or allergic reaction, look after your health first and seek medical attention. Minor injuries may progress into more serious injuries if left untreated, so it is important to get advice from a medical professional.
2. Report the injury
Cuts and burns usually occur during the service, whereas allergic reactions may develop a few hours following the treatment or service. If you have suffered an injury, whether during the treatment, or if it developed over time, make sure you report your injury to the beauty salon.
They may be able to identify the cause of injury and help you seek appropriate treatment. Reporting your injury will also allow the beauty salon management to take necessary precautions to prevent further cases.
3. Contact a personal injury claims solicitor
A personal injury claims solicitor can advise you on what to do following an injury in a beauty salon if you want to make a claim for compensation.
Physical injuries resulting from accidents in a public place may also have psychological impacts on victims. These injuries could result in financial hardship and daily challenges.
Knowing your rights will allow you to make an informed decision on how to proceed with your case.
What to do after an accident in a public place*?
Following an accident in a public place, there are a number of steps you should follow:
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Seek medical attention
Your health is your wealth and should be your first priority. Immediately after a public place accident, take a second to assess yourself to determine if you have any injuries and seek the relevant medical attention. If you have sustained a serious injury ensure that you contact an ambulance to attend the scene.
For minor injuries, you must remember that minor injuries where you ‘feel fine’ could progress to a more serious injury in the future. In this case it is always better to be safe than sorry and advisable that you go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) or local GP to be checked out.
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Report the accident
If you have an accident in a public place it is important to report it to the persons who are in charge of the upkeep of property.
Examples of such are:
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Identify any witnesses
If possible, try to collect the contact details of anybody that witnessed the accident. This may be of good use if you do decide to pursue a public place accident claim. It is also useful to find out if there is any CCTV in the area where the accident happened.
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Document the incident
It is important that you collect all the relevant information in connection with your accident:
- How the accident happened
- Details of any witnesses
- If there are any CCTV recordings of the accident
- Take pictures of where the accident happened and what caused you to slip, trip or fall
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Speak to a public place accident solicitor
If you are considering moving forward with a public place accident claim for any personal injuries sustained it is advisable that you speak with a public place accident claims solicitor as soon as possible. If you are proceeding with a claim, the first step will be submitting your claim to the Injuries Board for assessment. A public place accident solicitor can help you in preparing your application to the Injuries Board and ensure that you follow the process in the correct format, meaning that you can move forward with your claim quickly without unnecessary delays.
It is important to remember to keep copies of any expenses that you have incurred as a result of the accident. It is also imperative to retain copies of medical reports or incident report forms where possible as you will need them when making a claim.