You have the right to pursue full and fair compensation if you suffer a beauty salon injury due to the negligence of another. Your legal options when seeking compensation are to file an insurance claim or a personal injury lawsuit.
Knowing how to file a personal injury claim in a way that helps you recover all of your losses is confusing for those not familiar with Florida’s statutes and case law. A personal injury lawyer in Fort Lauderdale may be able to help. Most offer free case evaluations and strategy sessions to help you identify a legal option that makes sense for you.
Recognizing Beauty Salon Injuries Due to Negligence
It’s common to be involved in an incident and not be aware for hours or even days that you suffered an injury. Beauty salons are no exception, and you have every right to sue. They pose multiple risks, including but not limited to:
- Reactions to chemicals in hair dyes and body products
- Slip and falls on wet floors or trip and falls over cords
- Burns from hot stones at the spa or a curling iron at the stylist’s station
- Wax or laser burns
- Razor or scissor cuts
- Neck injuries
- Bacterial or viral infections from manicures or pedicures
- Back injuries
- Scalp injuries
- Hair loss
If you are involved in any incident at a beauty salon that caused an injury, visit a healthcare professional and tell them exactly what happened. You may be fine, but if it turns out that you are injured, early medical care does two things:
- It documents the physical injury
- It establishes a route for care and treatment when you need it
How to Protect Your Legal Claim After Suffering a Beauty Salon Injury
If you are injured while in a beauty salon, you will want to take action to protect your health and your rights. If your injuries allow, do the following:
- Get medical attention and follow through on all of your appointments. Prompt care gives the doctor a chance to catch emerging physical problems and creates a record of your injuries for insurance purposes.
- Inform the owner or manager of the incident and ask for a copy of their incident report, along with their insurance company’s contact information.
- Ask eyewitnesses to share their contact information and use your phone to record their statements.
- Take pictures of the area and of your injuries.
- Record your statement, including the day and time of the incident, who was involved, what led up to the incident, and the scope of your injuries.
- Before talking with an insurance adjuster, consider speaking with a personal injury attorney versed in Florida’s personal injury and premises laws. Most personal injury lawyers offer free case consultations. Take advantage of the offer.
You Could Be Owed Compensation for Your Beauty Salon Injury
Compensation for a personal injury usually comes in the form of economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages You Could Claim
Economic damages are those that address a demonstrable financial loss, such as:
- Medical expenses, which include but are not limited to hospital stays, surgery, medication, and rehab
- Income lost during your recovery, or income lost due to your injury requiring a change to a lower-paying job or reduction in your hours
- Loss of future earnings if your injury prevents you from resuming work
- Repair or replacement of personal property damaged during the incident
You May Also Qualify to Pursue Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are subjective losses, such as:
- Pain and suffering you feel at the time of the injury and after
- Mental anguish, depression, and anxiety
- Loss of enjoyment of life
You Need Evidence to Prove the Beauty Salon Was Negligent
To recover damages, you and your attorney need to prove negligence. Your injury may have been caused by the negligence of an individual or an entity, for instance:
- an employer may have failed to hire appropriately trained staff
- a hair product manufacturer may have failed to warn users of certain risks associated with their product
- a massage therapist may have come to work impaired and caused physical harm
In each instance, your attorney will investigate the accident and gather evidence that connects the cause to your injuries. They will gather reports, records, and statements. They may even include experts to add testimony to your case.
The Elements of Negligence in a Beauty Salon Injury Claim
In Florida, the components of negligence that your attorney must prove are:
- Duty of care: If a hairstylist is working on your hair, they have a duty of care to behave as a reasonable hairstylist would by safely performing their duties.
- Breach of duty: If your hairstylist fails to behave reasonably, acts recklessly, or deviates from standard practice, they have breached their duty of care.
- Causation: The hairstylist breached their duty of care to you, and that action resulted in your injury.
- Damages: As a result of the injury, you suffered physical, financial, and emotional losses, legally referred to as damages. Such losses could include lost wages, medical costs, and pain and suffering.
You Have the Right to Take Legal Action, But Time Is Limited
Though you have the right to pursue compensation, there are deadlines. One deadline will be to file an insurance claim with the liable party. You will need to identify the liable party, gather evidence of negligence, and file a compensation claim with the appropriate insurance company. You will want to capture evidence before it disappears and statements from eyewitness while their memories are fresh.
If your insurance claim is denied or the offer does not meet your needs, you can file a personal injury lawsuit. Florida Statutes § 95.11 sets the statutory deadline to two years from the date of your injury. However, if you do not file the lawsuit within two years, you may be barred from pursuing compensation through the courts.
Your attorney can explain which deadlines apply. Also, they can build a personal injury case for compensation and allow you the time you need to recover in peace.
Discover Your Rights and Legal Options Today
At Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers, our beauty salon injury attorneys offer free case evaluation sessions where you get answers and a clear picture of your rights and legal options. In addition, we don’t collect payment if we don’t win your case for you.
Attorneys Jason and Debi Chalik and our team stand with you and fight to the end for your right to the compensation settlement or judgment you deserve. Contact us today.
