Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
Facial burn at a salon
When I went to a salon recently for eyebrow waxing, the woman, who turned out to be the owner,left me for a few minutes to pick up a phone call in the middle of the process, with hot wax still on my eye lid. I felt some pain, but did not realize the burn until I got home. It looked that the surface layer of the skin in the size of finger nail had been peeled off. I went back to complain the next day, but she gave me the excuse that I had sensitive skin which is totally untrue (I never had such a problem with any of the waxing I had in the past) and that she had to pick up the phone call as she must attend her business.
I was very stressed out over the few days, worrying about scarring on my eye lid. I ended up with a dent in the size of a small finger nail. I feel this is totally avoidable. Do I have a case against this salon owner? If so, do I have a better chance in the small claims court or should I work with an attorney? I need, in either case, to see a doctor first and get the cost estimate for a plastic surgery to remove this facial scar.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Facial burn at a salon
This sounds like a viable negligence case, but just how viable it is will depend upon how costly your treatment will be. Usually, attorneys handle cases like this on a contingency fee. Since it sounds like you aren't in pain and haven't suffered a serious emotional trauma, your damages will probably be limited to the cost of your treatment.
You won't be able to interest an attorney in taking the case unless it seems you are entitled to a large judgment. If you need only a low-cost procedure, you might try a small claims case. You might need to bring a medical expert with you to testify about the nature of your injury and the procedure you need to repair it. This expert will want to be paid for her time, so even this option may not be worthwhile.
Re: Facial burn at a salon
Sorry to hear about your injury. Be sure and take photos to document your injury.
Make a claim and find out if the shop had insurance and whether the owner was licensed.
You are probably look at a small claims case (ie: no attorneys allowed) but definitely get it checked out medically a.s.a.p. Thanks for your question and good luck.
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