Can I Sue A Nail Salon For Compensation For Giving Me An Infection?

Nail salons have become more and more popular over recent years. They offer a range of services including manicures, nail extensions, nail polishing and other treatments designed to enhance the look of your fingers and nails. While most customers leave the salon happy with the outcome of their treatment, mistakes can sometimes occur. These can lead to various problems including infections that can be painful and require remedial treatment to rectify. If you’re asking “can I sue a nail salon for infection”, this article will look at what types of negligence during treatment could allow to sue a nail salon and how the process works.

We specialise in personal injury claims and have helped many clients claim for botched beauty treatments. If you call our advice line, you’ll receive a free review of your case and legal advice about your next steps. If we believe you’ve got grounds to proceed, we’ll ask one of our personal injury lawyers to represent you. If they agree, you’ll benefit from their expertise essentially risk-free as they’ll offer a No Win, No Fee service. That means you won’t need to pay them in advance for their work.

To start a compensation claim against a nail salon right away, contact our team on 0800 652 1345. Alternatively, you’ll find plenty of useful information about claiming for nail salon infections and other injuries throughout this article.

Can I claim compensation for a nail salon giving me an infection?

Our personal injury solicitors make a number of checks before taking on any type of compensation claim. This is so that they don’t waste your time or theirs pursuing a case that cannot be won. To do this, they’ll try to verify that:

• The nail salon owed you a duty of care; and
• The business or one of their technicians was negligent in some way; and
• As a result of that negligence, you suffered a nail infection or similar injury.

It’s important to note that most services offered by nail salons are not regulated in the UK. However, a duty of care is still likely to exist in that you should be treated by a competent technician with adequate training. Furthermore, legislation like the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1982 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 could also be used to establish a duty of care. If your case is accepted by one of our solicitors, you won’t need to worry about this as they’ll check everything for you before proceeding.

You could help with the claims process by providing proof as to how the nail salon was negligent and how that led to your infection. We’ll look into this further later on.

What can go wrong with a nail salon treatment?

While you might think that a trip to the nail salon is completely risk-free, that’s not always the case. The main hazards associated with nail salon treatments include:

What types of negligence by nail salons could lead to an infection?

As mentioned previously, you can only start a claim for an infection caused by nail salon treatment if the technician was negligent in some way. Examples of what could constitute negligence include:

• If you were not asked about any known allergens.
• Where the technician who treated you had not been properly trained.
• If too much chemical was used during your treatment.
• Where poor aftercare advice was given.
• If damaged equipment was used during your treatment.
• Where poor hygiene standards led to an infection.
• Where you weren’t told about the possible side effects and risks of your treatment.

These are just some examples of the types of negligence that could lead to nail bar compensation claims. If you don’t see an example that matches your own, don’t worry, we’ll still review your claim for free to see if you could be compensated.

What could I be compensated for?

When you make a compensation claim against a nail salon, you will need to justify the settlement amount you claim. As such, you can’t just pluck an amount out of the air. Instead, your claim should be based on the injuries the nail salon caused (general damages) and any costs you incurred as a result (special damages).

Each claim against a nail salon will vary from the next but you could be compensated for:

• The physical pain you had to deal with following treatment.
• Any psychological/mental harm your infection caused (embarrassment, depression, distress etc.).
• Loss of amenity if your infection stopped you from participating in your normal activities or hobbies.
• Loss of earnings where your infection meant you couldn’t work.
• Travel expenses linked to your infection.
• Any medical expenses you incurred.
• Care costs if someone else needed to help you with daily activities while you recovered.
• Future loss of income for more serious infections that have a long-term impact on your ability to earn.

As you can see, there’s quite a lot to consider before you start a claim. It’s important to take time over this process, though, as you can only claim once for the infection. If your case is accepted by one of our specialist solicitors, they’ll try to ensure you are awarded the maximum amount of compensation possible to cover your suffering

Providing proof if you’re going to sue a nail salon for infection

If you sue a nail salon for infection, the staff will not deal directly with the case. Instead, they’ll ask their insurer to represent them. That means that no matter how apologetic the technician may have been at the time, you won’t be compensated if the insurer isn’t convinced that their client was to blame. For this reason, you’ll need to supply as much proof as possible to support your allegations. For this, you could use:

• Photographic proof. It’s a good idea to keep track of your infection over time by photographing its progress regularly. If your phone has a timestamp feature, this could help to prove when your pictures were taken. If you have any pictures taken before the nail salon treatment, these could help too.
• Medical information. You should seek medical advice at a GP surgery or minor injuries unit to make sure your infection is diagnosed and treated properly. If you do decide to claim, medical reports can be requested to show the severity of your infection.
• Witness information. It’s a good idea to give your solicitor contact information for anyone who went with you to the nail bar. If needed, they might be asked for a statement about what was said or done during your consultation or treatment.
• Communications. Try to collate any emails, texts, consent forms, leaflets or other information relating to your beauty treatment. This could include any incident report forms or responses from the nail salon if you complained to them. Your solicitor will review this information for any mistakes or omissions.
• A diary. It’s quite a good idea to write everything down during your recovery to make it easier to discuss if you decide to sue a nail salon. By doing so, you could track any days off work or family events you missed because of your infection. You could also make a note of any expenses you’ve incurred.

As part of our free consultation for nail bar infection claims, any proof you have will be reviewed for free.

Time limits for claiming compensation against a nail salon

As will all types of beauty treatment claims, you’ll have 3-years to make a claim following negligent nail salon treatment. In most cases, this will begin from the date your infection was diagnosed.

It is often easier to recall what happened and how you were affected if you begin your claim sooner rather than later. Also, an early start should make it easier to collect any evidence needed.

If I sue a nail salon, will I have to attend court?

Usually, nail salon infection claims are settled out of court. This means your solicitor and the defendant’s insurers will (in most cases) come to an amicable agreement. While court cases are rare, they may be necessary if liability or a fair settlement amount cannot be agreed upon.

No Win, No Fee nail salon infection claims

Our personal injury solicitors will represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis if your claim is accepted. Knowing that you’ll only pay for their work if you are paid compensation should make everything a little less stressful.

If you do proceed, you and your solicitor will sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This will confirm that they’ll work for you on a No Win, No Fee basis. It will also set out the success fee you’ll pay if your case is won.

The success fee covers the cost of your solicitor’s time and costs. It is a fixed percentage of any compensation received that’s simply deducted before you’re paid so that you’re never out of pocket. So that you can’t be overcharged, the legal cap on success fees is 25%. As with any contract, you should check the success fee you’ll pay before signing.

To see if one of our No Win, No Fee solicitors could help you, please get in touch today.

Start a claim against a nail salon today

We hope our article has helped you decide whether to start a claim or not. If you do wish to take action, you can get in touch by calling us on 0800 652 1345. During your call, an advisor will offer free legal advice and explore your options with you.

As discussed already, if your claim is accepted, we’ll appoint a specialist solicitor who’ll represent you on a No Win, No Fee basis.

If you have any extra questions about suing a nail salon for infection, you can also talk to an advisor via live chat.