Legal Question in Consumer Law in Florida

I have a situation and i was hoping that maybe you could give me some advice that would stir me in the right direction at least.

Recently i purchased some haircare products that are created by a very lucrative company that not only damaged my hair, but it also took my hair out, created bald patches in my hair and scalp, it created a sore in my scalp, and my scalp was so sore that i had to seek medical attention from my doctor to be sure that my scalp was not infected. even my doctor couldn't believe that condition my hair was in(she's been my doctor for years, and we'd often discuss the nice condition of my hair). she did determine that my hair and scalp were severly damaged. my scalp was sore for nearly two weeks, so sore i couldn't style it and i due to that, and embarrasment from the condition of my hair, i even had to wear a head scarf and wigs to work!!

i took pictures of EVERYTHING! i have done extensive research on this product and other products from this company and came to find out that the same things have happened to other people's hair as well! i contacted the company with a general email explaining my situation and basically i was brushed off with a $14 check(less than what i paid for all of the items, which i STILL haven't cashed), them stating what their product is not 'capable' of doing(have not seen what has happened to my hair and scalp mind you), and on top of that they wanted the rest of products to 'test' them to see what is going on. well, i did better than that, no only did i send them back their products(keeping samples of each product for my own records of course) but i showed them evidence of what has taken place with my hair( i have more evidence that i did not submit to them) but i sent them enough evidence(copies from my orginals) to prove that their product 'indeed' did this to my hair and scalp. I sent everything priority and certified(someone had to sign for the package letting me know that they did receive everything) along with my contact information. i sent the package off on August 17th and they received everything on August 19th. Still, just as before, no one still has not contacted me to even try to truly rectify what happened to me. i even called that customer service center, and i was brushed off by a representative with "well, ma'am i'm sorry this happened to you and i will turn it over to "some" department". just to inform you, she never took my name, contact information--anything!

My question is, do I have legal rights to file a lawsuit with this company and do i have a good case?? I SO want to sue this company for what has been done to me. not only for the damage that their product did to my hair and scalp, but for the pain and suffering that i caused me as well!(my scalp was red and sore for nearly TWO weeks!) i have before and after pictures of how my hair looked before and after using this product(i'm pretty thorough when it comes to my hair), you can actually see how red and sore my scalp was, the bald patches throughout my hair(my doctor found a bald patch in the top of my head i didn't even know was there!!) i have evidence that i have found online that this company's products have done this before(it's hard for me to believe that this company is not aware of what's going on, they are just choosing to ignore the consumers). I don't feel that it's fair that these multi-million dollar companies should be allowed to do this us(their customers, and the reason of why they ARE multi-million dollar companies in the first place). They are fine with us as long as we're buying their products, but as soon as something like this happens they want to shun us, avoid us and treat us like peons or peasants. this has been a horrifying experience for me, an experience of not only embarrasement(damage to my hair and scalp), but even of pain(soreness, redness, and sores in my scalp).

Could you please tell me if there's anything I can do? I mean seriously, it's hard for me to believe in this country that a woman can sue a corporation for spilling hot coffee on HERSELF, but i can't sue for something like this. And if i can file a lawsuit, what kind of attorney should i seek?

thank you in advance for your time and assistance.


Asked on 8/25/09, 11:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sarah Grosse Sarah Grosse, Esquire

1) Let me guess... a hair relaxer or hair dye? I used to work as in-house counsel for a hair product manufacturer, and I assure you that your claim is not unusual.

2) It's only been 4 business days since "the company" (not necessarily the legal department, R&D or quality control) received your package. It's going to take them longer than that to receive and evaluate the situation.

3) What you should do is file a claim against them - using an attorney. The legal dept. will receive lawsuits directly or almost immediately, and their lawyers must them immediately notify the company's insurance company. The matter cannot slip through the cracks if a lawsuit is filed or even a lawyer's letter of intention to file suit.

4) Whether the company is liable depends on many facts, including whether you read and followed the application directions and whether the product itself was defective. Your damages also depend on many factors, including actual monetary loss, your pain and suffering, your contributory negligence.

You should seek a personal injury/products liability attorney to send a letter to the company's legal department. If no response, the attorney should file suit.

Don't let the 1-800 hotline people put you off. Your claim is legit, not unusual, and should be handled by the manufacturer's legal department.

Good luck to you.

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Answered on 8/25/09, 2:14 pm


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