Beauty salons are popular places. In the United States, over 100 million Americans frequent these establishments each month, and others like them to have beauty services such as hair styling, hair coloring, facials, pedicures, manicures, and more done.
Each state has its own regulations for these types of establishments, but in each place, these businesses must have a valid license, and cosmetologists must be certified. It’s also the duty of the owner to ensure that reasonable steps are taken to keep customers from being harmed.
Still, injuries happen. Sometimes it’s simply an accident, while other times it is pure negligence on the part of the salon. If you have gotten injured in a Florida beauty salon due to the negligence of another, then there are steps you can take to get the compensation you deserve.
Common Accidents in Florida Beauty Salons
It’s unfortunate that accidents occur in a place people go to feel better about themselves. Accidents and injuries in a beauty salon can be minor or have a long-lasting impact on your health and wellness. Some of the most common ways people get injured in a beauty salon include:
Slip and Falls
There may be uneven surfaces in salons or slick spots and debris that pose a slip and fall danger. If issues such as this are left unaddressed, they pose a hazard to customers and can cause slips and falls, leading to neck and back injuries or even broken bones.
Infections
Wounds left untreated can become infected by chemicals used in the salon, leading to infections that can take a lot of time to clear up and cause problems.
Lacerations
Unexpected or sudden movements on behalf of a stylist or the customer can lead to accidental cuts from salon tools such as nail clippers, scissors, or shears.
Burns
Burns can occur due to hot wax, chemicals, lasers, hair dryers, and curling irons – just to name a few. Burns can sometimes lead to permanent hair loss or skin damage, making them quite serious.
Injuries sustained in a salon can leave a person with damages that will require the help of an experienced attorney to get compensation.
What Type of Compensation Can Floridians Get?
There are two types of damages someone can pursue if they get injured at a beauty salon: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages include medical expenses due to the injury suffered, lost income, and help you may need to hire in your home to help you recover. Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, disfigurement or scarring, and reduced quality of life.
How to Win a Claim against a Salon in Florida
In order to be successful in a claim against a beauty salon in Florida, you must be able to show that the beauty salon, or its individual employees, owed you a duty of care to protect you, and breached that duty of care by not acting in accordance with reasonable standards to prevent your accident and that you sustained an injury because of that breach.
The facts of each case may differ, but it is possible to make claims against third parties if they were involved in the incident that led to your injuries. For example, an accident caused by malfunctioning equipment could make the manufacturer of that product liable for your injuries. Defective products like this and other beauty products that cause injuries should be examined closely to see if they play a role in your case. If they do, you and your attorney can work together to ensure they are held accountable.
How to File a Claim in Florida
If you have gotten injured at a beauty salon, you must take action on your case as soon as possible. Get an experienced attorney to help ensure you don’t miss any steps you need to take. This may include letting the salon know about your injury, in which case they may file an insurance claim you can pursue with your attorney.
Your attorney should be involved in each step of the process to ensure that your rights get upheld at each point and that the salon or their insurance company don’t prey upon your lack of legal knowledge and give you far less than you deserve.
About the Author:
Andrew Winston is a partner at the personal injury law firm Winston Law. For over 20 years, he has successfully represented countless people in all personal injury cases, focusing on child injury, legal malpractice, and premises liability. He has been recognized for excellence in representing injured clients by admission to the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and named one of America’s Top 100 High-Stakes Litigators. Mr. Winston is AV Preeminent Rated by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, enjoys a 10.0 rating by AVVO as a Top Personal Injury Attorney, and has been selected as a Florida “SuperLawyer” from 2011-2022– an honor reserved for the top 5% of lawyers in the state – was voted to Florida Trend’s ”Legal Elite,” recognized by Expertise as one of the 20 Best Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys, named one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Miami area for 2015-2022, and one of the Top 100 Lawyers in Florida for 2015-2017 and 2019-2022.
