Spa Injuries: Your Rights and Legal Options

A day of pampering sounds relaxing, but spas are potential minefields when it comes to serious injuries. If you’ve suffered a spa injury because someone was careless or negligent, you have the right to pursue compensation through a claim or personal injury lawsuit. 

At Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers, we walk our clients through their next steps during a free strategy session. During our conversation, you can learn about your rights, options, and the benefits of hiring a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer. Don’t stress if you suffered a serious injury; there is help available. 

Spa Services Have the Potential to Cause Serious Conditions 

Spas are places you go for a few hours or days to get pampered and receive health, beauty, and personal care. Some bill themselves as medical spas, although not all of those offering “medical” services are legally qualified to do so.

Services spas may offer include but are not limited to:

• Massages 
• Manicures 
• Pedicures 
• Facials 
• Body wraps 
• Hydrotherapy
• Sauna
• Intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy
• Microdermabrasion
• Chemical peels 
• Laser rejuvenation therapy
• Eyebrow threading, tinting, microblading, and waxing 

Florida Statutes § 477 notes that most spa workers must be licensed by the Board of Cosmetology to perform certain services, such as exfoliation and permanent makeup application. However, not all spas do their diligence and check employees’ backgrounds before hiring them. If this was the case in your spa injury claim, this could serve as important evidence later on. 

What Injuries Can Spa Services Cause?

Spa injuries can stem from improperly done services or poor maintenance of the premises. Though not a complete list, the following are severe injuries that may occur at a spa:

• Brain injuries, sprains, and broken bones from slipping and falling on wet floors or tripping over debris
• Bruising, nerve damage, or exacerbation of pre-existing conditions 
• Infections from dirty pools, saunas, or steam rooms
• Burns from improperly applied chemicals or electrical equipment
• Scarring, blistering, or infection from IPL therapy 
• Skin discoloration or scarring from laser rejuvenation
• Dehydration and respiratory challenges from hot saunas
• Carbon monoxide poisoning from gas leaks 
• Fungal and staph infections from nail clippers 

It’s never acceptable to suffer an injury while visiting a nail salon or beauty salon. You have a reasonable expectation of safety while visiting another party’s property. 

We Must Prove Negligence Led to Your Spa Injury to Recover Damages 

To recover fair compensation for your spa injuries, we must prove the other party’s negligence. In Florida, we look at four questions when proving negligence, and they are:

• Did the other party owe you a duty of care? This is a given in spa injury cases, as every facility has a duty of care to prevent injuries to clients. 
• Did the other party breach their duty of care? For instance, did the spa expose you to unsafe conditions by failing to sanitize instruments? Did it hire inexperienced technicians who didn’t understand how to prevent injuries?  
• Did the other party cause your injuries? Using eyewitness testimony, security camera footage, and information from your doctor, we must draw a link between your injury and the treatment you received at the spa. 
• Did your injury cause you to suffer damages? As the final element of negligence, we must show that your injury caused you to incur damages, like medical bills and lost wages. 

Proving negligence can get complicated, but you don’t have to establish these factors on your own. By hiring a personal injury lawyer, you get an advocate who can prove your case’s required elements and pursue maximum compensation for your losses. 

Types of Financial Compensation You May Pursue for a Spa Injury

When you suffer a personal injury caused by the negligence of a spa employee, manager, or other party, you have the right to pursue economic and non-economic damages for what you experienced. 

Economic damages may include:

• Medical treatment costs 
• Expenses unrelated to medical care that arise due to your injury, such as childcare, transportation, and assistance with household maintenance
• Loss of income and benefits as you recover 
• Loss of future earnings if you are unable to return to work

Non-economic damages don’t have documentation like receipts, but they’re still compensable. They include:  

• Pain and suffering 
• Disability or disfigurement that affects your day-to-day living
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of companionship and affection 

You Must Act Within the Statute of Limitations to Recover Damages 

Florida gives you two years from the date of your injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline begins either from the date you suffered an injury or the date you discovered the condition. 

While most spa injury claims settle through insurance negotiations, you want to keep your options open if a lawsuit becomes necessary. Otherwise, if the insurer refuses to settle, but the deadline has passed, you could have few (if any) financial recovery options. 

How to Protect Your Rights After Suffering a Spa Injury

There are steps you can take after an injury to protect your rights. If you are unable to follow through, ask a friend to help you:

• Get medical care immediately after you are injured, or as soon as possible, depending on the severity of your injury
• Document your injury by reporting it to the facility and your doctor
• Take pictures of the room or area where you were injured and of your injuries
• Collect the contact information of those who were present when you were injured 
• Write or record a statement of how you were injured and the aftercare you received

Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers advocates for people who have suffered spa injuries. When you entrust your personal injury claim or lawsuit to our law firm, we intend to secure the best possible outcome. Compensation could offer the funds you need to pay your medical bills, account for your lost wages, and move on. You can secure legal representation today. 

Call Chalik & Chalik Injury Lawyers to Start a Free Case Review 

Personal injury attorneys Jason and Debi Chalik bring compassion and personal attention to each legal battle. Our approach allows our family to fight for your family.  

We invite you to share your story with us during a free case consultation. If we partner together, we accept no payment unless we are successful in recovering your losses. Contact us today. Let’s fight for your future together.