claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

[rickirv]

my partner is a beautician and received a claim from a client alleging she had a reaction to a eyebrow tint. We have found out from another salon that the client is allergic and has suffered a reaction before and tried to claim damages. My partner carried out a consultation with her and she neglected to mention this and stated she was absolutely fine with having it done. The only evidence is a couple of photos showing redness in her eyebrows. The client claims she attened the doctors 7 days later after being on holiday and was treated for a infection but we are yet to see any evidence of this. Surely the client has a duty of care to themselves and has entered into this knowing the outcome. She is trying to claim the cost of her holiday and other damages. She has missed no time off work and her partner who she was on holiday with was unaware there was anything wrong with her. I am baffled as to what losses she has suffered. The client when returning to work 9 days after the treatment had no sign of any injury and seemed fine. Any advive would be much appreciated as causing a lot of stress.

[Peridot]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

Hi Rickirv,

Don't panic. Has your partner just received a complaint letter at this stage or a letter before action, stating what she is claiming. Is it from the individual or solicitors?

Did the person contact your partner before this letter was received ie immediately she had the alleged reaction?

The injury would have to be caused by your partner's negligence. If for example hydrogen peroxide undiluted had been applied instead of tint and it was shown that this could have been avoided through having clearly labelled bottles, for example then that would be negligence on your partner's part. I know that is not the situation but hopefully you get the general idea.

At the initial appointment when the questions were asked, has she had a reaction previously etc, were notes taken or is there some sort of check list that your partner works through that is kept on record. Don't panic if not, but for the future it may be sensible for this to be done and keep the records.
It is for the woman who has raised the complaint to prove her claim.

Does your partner have a policy in place when dealing with these sorts of treatments on new customers, for example patch tests etc? Again probably a good idea to have one I place, that you comply with so that any issue in the future can be headed off, as you have followed a policy that is appropriate.

Does the tint used recommend patch testing?

Does your partner have insurance? If she does then I would check what the policy says about reporting potential claims even if you don't think they will go anywhere. Insurers can get very stroppy and even refuse to cover if they are not made aware at the outset and the matter did proceed further. Check the wording. The insurer may investigate themselves so have all the information available concerning the other salon she has attended etc.

But that is jumping ahead. It is for this person to prove their claim.

The individual would have to demonstrate that your partner owed her a duty of care (which as her beautician would probably not be in issue), and that the 'injury' she allegedly suffered was due to your partner's negligence.

For a solicitor to take this on she would also have to demonstrate that the injury itself would be valued at over £1,000, which from your description of slight redness seems unlikely. Solicitors would not take on a claim where the injury is valued at less than this as they would not be awarded their costs even if they were successful in the claim.

I would recommend requesting sight of any medical records relating to the alleged injury, or a headed letter from her GP confirming dates of attendance, what the injury was and how treated, (if any was needed) and also confirming whether this has ever happened to her before which then resulted in her seeking treatment, following a beautician attendance.

That may be enough to stop her in her tracks if she is trying to swing the lead. If the response indicates that this is more than a slight reddening and there is no previous history then do involve your insurers (if any, maybe even before if you are unsure what to ask for). They can guide you as much as anything and even deal with the claim if needs be. Yes it will effect premiums in the future if this person is successful, but better than your partner having to fight alone or dip into their own pocket if they had to settle the matter themselves.

For the future, make sure that initial information is taken and kept for the clients and all recommendations on products are followed. At least then, if you have written records confirming someone refuses to have a patch test then it will be documented and can be produced in situations such as these. Make sure the reason they refuse a test when recommended, is a good one. If a product recommends it and you carry on without, just because a client refused, ask whether that is right. If they have had the treatment before then it is a judgment call, but document it. Cover your back.

Unfortunately there are some people out there who will try it on, but equally some do not and have genuine injuries, where recommended processes or treatments practice is not followed.

Your partner needs to write down everything they remember about the person, including dates of attendance, products used, any other useful info and a record of any other contact if any, there has been before the letter was received just so they have a record if needed. Also if the other salon owner is willing to confirm that the person has made a previous claim against them, make sure you have their details and keep a note of the bare facts they have mentioned so far.

I hope this helps. Honestly please don't panic, see what happens and if you need any more pointers, post your queries up her.

[rickirv]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

Thanks for the reply. The initial letter was from the client wanting to claim which we replied to saying we had no offers to make as feel my partner was negligent as she carried out a consultation and we have not seen any injury. We have now received a letter from a no win no fee solicitor stating they are claiming personal injury but have not detailed anything. I rang them to get the full details of the claim but they have yet to send anything. How can they prove this claim ? The client could have applied something to her face which caused her injury after leaving the salon. The client was out that night to celebrate her birthday and had fake tan and make up applied yo her face so what is to say that didn't cause her alleged injury. I have seen a few people mention insurance will not cover as no patch test was done which I will look into. If there I no cover will they claim direct off my partner ? We have no moneybto pay a claim my partner is a sole trader so what would happen ?

[enaid]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

I would ask if she had any photos of the said injury, everyone has photos on their holidays.

[Peridot]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

Hi Rickiv,

Wait until you get a full letter of claim from the solicitors. That will set out exactly what she is alleging. You can then respond saying exactly what you've said already, that a consultation was carried out and you heard nothing until the letter from her. It is for her to prove the injuries, so medical records will have to be produced at some point.

As I mentioned in the last post, if you have insurers I would notify them, just so they are in the loop and they can deal if needs be.
If you don't have insurers come back here once you have had the letter of claim from the solicitor (it may not happen if she can't produce medical evidence but they may wait to obtain those records so the solicitor at this stage will only be acting on what the person has told them so far).

It is scary but they will have to show with evidence how this alleged injury has affected them to have any chance of succeeding. You can hold the other salon evidence up your sleeve at the moment, but it would be worth contacting the other salon to sure up the facts in case they are needed later.

Please try not to worry. Deal with it one step at a time. Wait for the letter from the solicitors but get your notes down on what your partner recollects about what happened, including whether the person contacted you immediately after the alleged issue arose etc.

Pop back on here as and when.

[rickirv]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

Just a update so far we have had a loss adjuster come to see us. He stated there may be no cover as no patch test was done even thou the client agreed to this. As of yet no one has seen any medical report of proof of a doctors visit. She has sent pictures which she has had date stamped but this could have been from her previous attempt to claim from another salon. It feels very unfair as the claim seems to be going ahead with no real evidence. If our insurance declines indemnity how are we suppose to pay ?

[Peridot]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

Hi Rickirv,
How frustrating for you. Until there is medical evidence that also indicates that she sought medical advice and the corresponding GP/hospital entry corroborate her story there is little you can do I'm afraid. Have you actually received a 'letter of claim' or was the loss adjuster's visit just in relation to your reporting there may be a claim? It is a slow process and you can only deal as matters arise.

Provided you have written everything down as it happened there is little else you can do at this stage. Did the other salon owner indicate they would be willing to make a statement confirming this person approached them not long before this alleged incident? That may be helpful to your defence if they do. Maybe if you haven't already just reach out to the other owner and get something written down before time makes things fuzzy.

I assume the insurers are also aware of this?

Here if you need us and thanks for the up-date.

[rickirv]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

We have now heard back from our insurance and there is no cover as a patch test wasn't carried out. As we are gang t have t defend the claim ourselves can I put in a SAR form to the hospital to see the claimants medical records ? We still feel this claim is bogus and want t do everything to stop it. The photographs they have supplied don't make sense as in picrures taken minutes apart her eyebrows look completely different. This is not the first claim she has made for the same thing so could be old pictures. The claimant also did not see a doctor for 7 days and decided to apply various creams to her brows which could have caused a reaction. One of the creams bepanthen contains lanolin which could have caused the reaction if there was one. Any advice on defending this would be appreciated

[Peridot]

Re: claim againt beautician eyebrow tint reaction/false claim

Hi Rickirv,
I'm sorry to hear about the insurance. Have you had the formal letter of claim yet? I assume you have hence receiving the pictures?
Does this woman have solicitors acting for her? If so you should be requesting the medical records from her solicitor. You won't be able to obtain them yourself.
If you have received the letter of claim it may be useful if you could post it with all relevant names and address details redacted. You can e-mail the copy of the letter if that is easier and then it can be checked that there is no information that should be redacted before posting it up. The e-mail is kati@legalbeagles.info

[jaguarsuk]

I think it is a con,

I'd say it's obviously a con.

The pictures differing despite supposedly being minutes apart and the litigious history all point to that.

rickirv How much exactly are they claiming they want in compensation? The reason I ask is that should a claim be filed this will have abearing on the track it ends up in and ultimately how costs might start to spiral out of control.

Also, even if she ceases trading as a sole trader your partner would be liable for this if the claimant wins and my advice is to register a limited company with companies house then commence trading under that name immediately. This protects your partner from being personally liable to things like this. It won't help this instance, but it protects you in future.

[des8]

That's good..I'll pop across to NYC as soon as lockdown is over to get my free microblading consultation (whatever that is!)