Legal Question in Personal Injury in South Carolina

My daughter's hands were injured at a restaurant by soap

On 4-2-04 we visited a restaurant. Upon arriving my 6-year old daughter and I used the public restroom and washed our hands with the soap in the dispenser on the counter. Within minutes her hands were red, blistered and swollen. We showed the cashier, and she gave us hand lotion. They continued to burn and we held them under cold running water. The took the bottle of soap out of the bathroom, but returned it after they told us it was filled Dawn dishwashing detergent NOT liquid soap. One employee said it was no big deal - we just needed to buy some Benadryl and make sure her throat didn't swell. They offered no apology, no help, not even a refund for our dinner that we were unable to eat! They didn't even offer to pay for a $6 bottle of Benadryl! Today, almost 24 hours later, they are still slightly swollen and almost chapped looking, and the skin is broken in some areas. Do we have any legal recourse since it seems they were at fault for knowingly placing a heavy duty detergent in a container CLEARLY marked ''Liquid Soap''? Then, they took it out and put it back without even worrying if it could happen to anybody else! Your reply is greatly appreciated.


Asked on 4/03/04, 2:34 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Robert Johnston Law Offices of Robert J. Johnston

Re: My daughter's hands were injured at a restaurant by soap

You never asked a question. Since most people are interested in suing, I assume that was your question. Legally speaking, the law would require that they knew or should have known that an injury could occur in order for you to suceed with a lawsuit. Personally, I have never heard of Dawn diswashing detergent to be harmful. You might want to hire an expert to give a professional opinion on the liklihood of Dawn to injury someone. But I would be careful, as I don't think this particular case would result in the damages necessary to justify paying the expert. Good luck.

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Answered on 4/03/04, 5:18 pm
Edward McDonnell

Re: My daughter's hands were injured at a restaurant by soap

I really can not predict whether or not you would be able to collect damages from the restauraunt without having all of the facts in front of me. If you are considering suing the restauraunt, I suggest you document, i.e. photograph, your daughter's hands. If you would like to discuss this further, please contact my office so that we can sit down and explore the different ways we could handle your case.

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Answered on 4/04/04, 10:33 am


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