As we enter a new year, our high streets continue to change with many shops sadly closing permanently. This is largely due to the number of people choosing to shop online, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) have reported that 2022 was the worst year for retail in five years, with a total of 17,145 shops closing down, which is on average approximately 47 shops every day.
Whilst the number of shops has fallen drastically, other industries such as hair and beauty, tattoos and piercings have grown considerably. BBC analysis shows that there are an additional 5,100 hair and beauty premises on our high streets since before the pandemic, and an extra 350 tattoo parlours and piercing studios.
Whilst a trip to the salon can be a relaxing and enjoyable experience, unfortunately injuries do occur due to negligence, and this is likely to increase along with the growth in the beauty industry. Some treatments are of course riskier than others, such as those using chemicals, dermal injections, botox, and semi-permanent make-up pigmentation. Issues with these cosmetic procedures can lead to serious and permanent injuries including burns, scarring, altered sensation to the face, nerve damage and even paralysis.
Surprisingly many of these treatments can be offered by people without any formal qualifications and there is a clear lack of regulation of the industry. Whilst many beauticians will ensure they have suitable insurance in place, this is not a legal requirement and so there is also a risk that if something does go wrong, the hairdresser, beautician or tattooist may be uninsured. Unfortunately, the current cost of living and unprecedented levels of inflation adds more pressure onto practitioners and this could lead some to forego insurance, or even cut corners on safety to try to save money. It is therefore important to do your research and choose a salon you can trust, ensuring you know the beauty practitioner is fully trained and fully insured before you accept any treatments. It may be tempting to choose based on price alone, but if this is considerably lower than market rates, it is important to consider how the practitioner is able to offer such a low price; this could actually be a warning sign.
If you find yourself with an injury or disfigurement following a visit to the beauty salon or tattoo studio, there are some steps you should take straight away to support a claim for personal injuries:
- Notify the practitioner of your injuries and keep a record of any responses
- Take good quality photographs of the injury or damage straight away and afterwards, keeping a record of the date all photographs were taken.
- Seek medical advice as soon as possible to ensure that you have the best chance of recovery, and to get details of the incident on record.
Our personal injury claims solicitors have considerable knowledge and experience handling beauty treatment compensation claims and can help if you find yourself in this unfortunate situation. If you would like to speak to a member of the team call us on 0161 696 6235 or complete our online enquiry form.
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