By Olivia Baker. Last updated 16th March 2021. Welcome to our guide to making hairdresser injury claims. If you have suffered an injury at the hands of a hairdresser through no fault of your own, you may be eligible to make a hairdresser injury compensation claim against the hairdresser involved.
For some, going to have your hair done is a necessity or just another thing to up-keep. For others, it is a way of relaxing and having that all-important ‘me time’. Unfortunately though, what is supposed to be a normal and even enjoyable activity can sometimes turn into a disaster. Accidents in salons and hairdressers can and do happen. These can result in someone sustaining an injury, or being harmed in some way. If this has happened to you, seeking professional legal advice from a claims management company about how to make a hairdressing claim will give you the best chance of making your claim a success.
If you do receive hairdresser injury compensation, this can help with other problems that may stem from being injured such as, financial, medical, psychological or personal problems as well as giving you some level of justice for the pain and suffering you have endured.
Legal Helpline is a claims management company with a wealth of experience gained over a period of 30 years. We can help you to get the hairdresser injury compensation you deserve, just give us a call for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Jump to a Section
- A comprehensive guide to hairdressing compensation claims
- Common causes of injuries by hairdressers
- Steps to take following a hairdressing injury
- Can I sue a hairdresser for personal injury compensation?
- Hairdresser duty of care towards customers
- Can I claim compensation for damaged hair?
- Proceeding with a hairdresser compensation claim
- What compensation could I claim from my hairdresser?
- Hairdressing compensation calculator
- Hairdressing no win no fee compensation claims
- How can Legal Helpline assist with a hairdressing compensation claim?
- Contact Legal Helpline
- Helpful resources and links
A comprehensive guide to hairdressing compensation claims
Surprisingly, it is actually quite common for someone to sustain a hairdresser injury. Although the majority of injuries are minor, such as a small cut from the scissors or a razor that heal quite quickly, some injuries can be severe. There are various ways in which someone could become injured by a hairdresser because of the different equipment and types of products used. For instance, when colouring, chemicals such as bleach are used. Hairdryers and hot straighteners are commonly used too, which pose electricity and burn injuries. And of course cuts and scrapes from other sharp objects can happen.
Hairdresser injury claim
If you have been injured by a hairdresser then you may be contemplating claiming compensation and would like to know how to sue a hairdresser. This hairdresser injury claims guide has been developed to give an informative overview of hairdressing compensation claims.
The guide includes information such as:
- What are the common causes of hairdressing injuries?
- What should I do if I’m injured?
- How might liability be proven?
- What can I claim for?
- How much can I claim for a hairdresser injury?
We also cover the advantages of having a claims management company such as Legal Helpline working with you and explain more about our no win no fee hairdresser injury claims service.
After reading through the guide, if you need further help or would like to know more about how we can help you to successfully make your hair salon negligence claim, then please call Legal Helpline on 0161 696 9685.
Common causes of injuries by hairdressers
There are various things that can go wrong when visiting a hairdresser that could lead to hair or skin damage or some other form of personal injury. Claiming hairdresser injury compensation from a hairstylist for damages is quite possible if the incident causing injury was not your fault.
Some of the problems that cause hair and skin damage or injury include:
- Allergic Reaction – Due to some of the ingredients in the hair products, an allergic reaction could occur, this could be mild or very severe.
- Slips, trips and falls – Hair, water or other spillages on the floor that aren’t kept clear regularly could cause someone to slip and fall. All surfaces, particularly the floor, should be kept clean and tidy at all times.
- Inadequate or improper training – Hairdressers should have the relevant qualifications to carry out hairdressing or barbering tasks safely and properly. Hairdressers and barbers are regularly using electrical and hot equipment, chemicals (think hair dyes, bleach, perming lotions etc) and sharp objects, and so must be trained in the correct use under the correct circumstances to suit each individual client,t to minimise the risk of potential accidents.
- Dirty Equipment – Any equipment used should be cleaned regularly using the correct products to prevent cross-contamination between clients.
- Cuts and Burns – burns may be caused by the use of electrical equipment such as hairdryers and hot straightening irons, also they can be caused by the misuse or incorrect use of chemical containing products. Cuts can be due to the use of scissors or razors. Some injuries may be fairly minor but some can be extremely severe and have long-lasting after-effects.
- Damage to the hair or unintentional loss of hair – By incorrectly using or misusing certain products, the hair can become damaged and sometimes even fall out.
If you have suffered any problems similar to those above or have been injured in some other way by a hairdresser, providing it can be proven that they are to blame, you may be eligible to make a hairdresser injury claim for damages.
Steps to take following a hairdressing injury
If you have sustained an injury at the hairdressers which you believe to be their fault, there are a number of steps you can take that will help legitimise your claim and help to prove the hairdresser’s liability for your accident. This will therefore make a strong base for gaining hairdresser injury compensation. The things that you should try to do are:
- Medical Attention – Seeing a doctor is the most important thing you should do as your injuries need to be properly assessed so that they can be treated appropriately. Also by visiting a doctor, a medical report will be written which will detail your injury, treatment and future prognosis. This report can prove invaluable as evidence of your injury and its severity.
- Photos – Take photos of your injury as visual proof of your pain and suffering. Also, if possible, take photos of where the incident occurred and if it involved products, take a photo of these also.
- Keep a Diary – Write a diary of events as soon as you can from when you arrived at the salon, what was happening when the incident took place and what happened after. Anything that you can remember about your accident, write down. Also, carry on keeping a diary of any pain or discomfort you may be experiencing since the incident.
- Witnesses – Get contact details of anyone who may be a witness to your accident as witness statements might be required to back up your version of events.
- Accident Record Book – Make sure your accident is recorded in the accident book and ask for a copy.
- Legal Advice – Contact a legal professional for expert advice. We simply cannot stress how beneficial getting the right help and advice is in cases to do with hair salon negligence. Having legal representation will increase your chances of a successful claim dramatically.
Can I sue a hairdresser for personal injury compensation?
If you have been injured whilst at the hairdressers and it wasn’t your fault, then you could be able to make hairdresser injury clims. However, in order to make a successful claim, liability needs to be proven. Proving liability isn’t always necessarily easy to do and will depend greatly on the individual circumstances of your case. There is also a possibility, depending on what happened, that liability could be due to a number of other parties.
Some examples of where liability may fall in certain circumstances are shown below:
- Slips, Trips & Falls – If you have sustained an injury due to a fall in the salon and it was because the floor space was messy, slippery, had loose hair cuttings or was contaminated somehow, then the salon may be found liable. In accordance with the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, the salon has a duty of care to anyone visiting the premises to provide a safe environment. Therefore anything considered a hazard should have been dealt with as soon as possible or at least signposted to warn of the possible accident risk until it could be dealt with properly.
- Accidental Injuries – In these types of cases where you may have been cut, burnt or perhaps had your hair damaged, either through pure carelessness, or lack of adequate training, for example, then compensation may actually rely on the employment status the hairdresser holds. Liability could be aimed at varied parties depending on the insurance policies and the rank of the hairdresser involved.
- Equipment that is faulty – Liability in these cases aren’t always straightforward. If the equipment had not been properly maintained then the salon would in most cases be found liable, however, if the equipment had been regularly checked but the checks weren’t carried out properly, or if it was because of a manufacturers fault, then these outside parties may be to blame.
- Burns due to chemicals – In these cases, it is much the same as in the case of an accidental injury. The hairdresser’s employment status and level of training will have some baring when determining who should be found liable.
Proving liability can be a complex process as things aren’t always in black and white and there are often grey areas that need investigating before being able to come to a final decision. Talking to experienced hair lawyers who know about the laws of liability can be of great benefit when trying to determine who is responsible for your injury.
Hairdresser duty of care towards customers
So what is the hairdresser’s responsibility? All hairdressers and salon businesses are required by law in the UK to abide by certain legislation in order to make sure clients and anyone else visiting their premises are safe from any injuries. In order to do this, there are various policies put in place that need to be adhered to, some of these are:
- Patch Testing – Hair strand tests and skin patch tests must by law be performed before applying any colours or chemicals of any kind to a person’s hair to prevent the hair from becoming damaged, or an allergic reaction from occurring. This is a must including when using organic hair products.
- Training and Being Sufficiently Instructed – All salons have a duty of care to customers to make sure the stylist in charge of styling the client’s hair is properly and sufficiently trained for the job at hand. The stylist should have the correct knowledge to perform certain tasks, for example knowing how long a product should be left on the hair before it needs to be removed for example. The stylist should also know what safety precautions to take before proceeding with a treatment to prevent an injury to the client from occurring. If a trainee is doing the client’s hair, they should already have covered the process and its requirements through their training materials but until qualified, should be working under the direction and watchful eye of a fully trained hairdresser.
- Product Disposal – If chemical products like perming products, peroxide, powders or colours or any other chemicals used in a salon etc. are not disposed of correctly, it can be harmful to our environment. Therefore, the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) 2002 regulations, have set procedures on how salons store, use and dispose of chemical products and salons need to adhere to these by law.
- PAT testing – The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations Act 1998 states that salons have to regularly get all of their electrical appliances and gadgets tested and maintained to make sure they are safe to use and work as they should.
If you have been injured whilst at a salon because those with a legal duty of care to you failed to fulfil it, you could have grounds to make hairdresser injury claims for hairdresser injury compensation.
Can I claim compensation for damaged hair?
“Can I claim compensation form a hairdresser who has ruined my hair?” Well, depending on the circumstances, yes you can. If your hair has been damaged due to fire, the negligence of the hairdresser, by the wrong chemicals being used or used incorrectly, criminal assault or any other reason, hairdresser injury claims may be brought against the stylist or salon as they have breached their duty of care.
Typical reasons that clients may make a claim for damaged hair compensation include:
- Dermatitis on the scalp – This is a condition where patches on the scalp become dry, red, scaly and flaky causing stubborn dandruff. Other areas of the body can also be affected by the infection. Scalp dermatitis is often a product of overexposure to chemicals on the scalp or by the hairstylist utilising chemicals that are particularly highly caustic on the client’s hair.
- Balding – If a stylist uses the wrong products or products that are too strong for the client’s hair, they run the risk of bald patches appearing or hair falling out due to cell damage.
- Brittle Hair – By using chemicals incorrectly or too often, the hair can become very dry and brittle and sometimes may start to break off very easily causing hair to thin out and the client to suffer from hair loss.
- Burned scalp or hair – The scalp and/or hair could be burned during the styling procedure or possibly because of faulty equipment. Depending on the circumstances of your individual case, parties other than the salon may be liable such as the firm that carries out the PAT testing, or the manufacturer of the equipment.
- Patchy hair – Uneven cuts or bald patches will be very displeasing. In some circumstances, you may have a cause to claim compensation.
- Psychological Damage – Having hair left damaged or left with balding patches can cause a lot of distress to the victim as they will undoubtedly feel embarrassed and socially anxious. As well as claiming for the physical damage, claims for psychological damage can also be made.
All hairdresser injury claims are different and unique in their circumstances. To discuss your individual claim in more detail, contact Legal Helpline who will be happy to help and advise you on whether you have a legitimate claim and the best course of action for you to take.
Proceeding with a hairdresser compensation claim
Knowing where to begin when making hairdresser injury claims can be daunting as they can be very complex cases. Even making a small claims court hairdresser claim can be tough if you have no experience of personal injury claims and what they involve. This is one of the many reasons why we recommend contacting an experienced claims management firm such as Legal Helpline.
We can offer you a free consultancy session where we can confidentially discuss the details surrounding your case. You can use this time to ask us any questions you may have regarding making a claim and also show us the evidence you may already be gathered so that we can thoroughly assess the legitimacy of your claim. If we feel that you have good reason to make your claim then we will no doubt offer to take on your case for you on a no win no fee basis. We will start taking the necessary steps to gather more evidence to support your claim and we can also offer you a free local medical for a full medical assessment of your injury if needs be. We will also consider the legal requirements of working in the hairdressing industry making sure that we have enough evidence and documentation to prove liability.
By having legal representation you can be confident that all of the aspects involved when suing a hairstylist will be carefully thought about and covered ensuring that you have a strong case and get the highest possible settlement amount.
What compensation could I claim from my hairdresser?
When making hairdresser injury claims, there are several points that should be considered and included which will make up the final settlement amount. These types of hairdresser injury compensation will typically include the following:
- General Damages – This is a collective term for the physical effects of your claim. General damages cover the pain and suffering you have experienced as well as any psychological effects and anxieties. The more severely you have suffered, the higher the award amount will be.
- Care Claim – If you have needed someone to care for you whilst you recover, they can also make a claim.
- Medical Expenses – Any medical expenses you have incurred purely due to your injury can and should be included in your claim, such as prescription fees, counselling costs or treatment costs.
- Travel Expenses – If you have incurred travelling expenses directly due to your injury, then these should be included in your claim.
- Lost Income – Any currently lost, or future loss of income as a direct consequence of your injury needs to be included.
An experienced personal injury solicitor will make sure that every area of your life that has been directly affected by your injury will somehow be included in your claim to maximise the settlement amount you could be awarded.
Hairdressing compensation calculator
The main parts of any personal injury claim that influence the settlement amount are the type of injury, it’s the severity and what the future prognosis is. The most severe being awarded the larger sums. However, as you can see from above there are a number of other variables that affect the overall final amount awarded and so it would be impossible to predict at this stage, how much you could possibly receive without discussing in detail all of the other factors mentioned above.
We can however show the average amounts awarded for certain levels of injury to at least give some indication of what may be possible.
| Reason for compensation | Average amount awarded | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Mental anguish | £4,380 | Fear of impending death or reduced expectation of life. Some allergic reactions can be extremely serious and frightening. |
| Trivial scarring | £1,600 to £3,310 | Minor |
| Significant scarring | £8,550 to £28,240 | Require plastic surgery |
Feel free to phone Legal Helpline to discuss your own personal case in more detail and to see if we can shed more light on what may be possible with your circumstances.
Hairdressing no win no fee compensation claims
Legal Helpline work on a no win no fee basis. We feel by offering this service we are providing everybody no matter what their current financial situation a chance to claim the compensation they deserve. Often the thought of hiring legal representation is enough to put people off of filing a claim as they simply cannot afford the legal fees involved. These are often expected to be funded by means of upfront costs or regular costs throughout the process. However, with our service, there is nothing to pay until we win. Once this is done, we will take a small percentage of the final awarded amount, therefore, having no negative impact on your finances. If we don’t win, you are not accountable to pay us anything at all.
We offer a service where there is no gamble of your finances, giving you the freedom to claim for your injury with the help of an experienced legal team, greatly increasing your chances of success.
How can Legal Helpline assist with a hairdressing compensation claim?
By hiring our team, clients can give their hairdresser injury claims the best possible chances of success due to our years of experience and knowledge in personal injury claims. We will use this to build you a very strong case, making sure that we have the evidence required and all of the necessary information that will maximise the hairdresser injury compensation you receive.
We always put our client’s first and keep them informed of their cases progress every step of the way whilst giving you some time and space to concentrate on your recovery. For an added incentive, you can also be assured that your case will be given the full attention it needs to be successful as the payment of our fees relies on us winning your case and receiving the maximum amount possible.
We care about our clients and work hard and consistently on their case to ensure that they receive the compensation they are entitled to as quickly and as efficiently as possible so that they may escape the dark cloud they must feel above them, and start to move on with their lives knowing that some sort of justice has been served.
Hairdresser Injury Claims FAQs
How much can I claim for a hairdresser injury?
Once again, we urge you to get in touch today for a free consultation if you’re wondering how much compensation you could be entitled to. This is because of how challenging it can be to value claims without properly assessing them. Personal injury claims are valued according to the extent of victims’ suffering, so payouts differ from case-to-case.
Contact Legal Helpline
Contact Legal Helpline today on 0161 696 9685 for free help and advice. One of our team will answer your call and do their best to answer any questions you may have regarding your case.
Helpful resources and links
How to claim compensation for burn injuries
Have you suffered burns by your hairdresser? If so this provides more information on claiming compensation for burn injuries.
NHS guide on contact dermatitis.
The HSE guide on how hairdressing salons can perform risk assessments to reduce the chances of injury.
Thanks for reading our guide to making hairdresser injury claims.