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Individual / Personal Injury Claims
A haircut, colour, wax, facial or cosmetic treatment should never leave you injured. When a hairdresser, beautician or salon gets it wrong, through poor technique, a missed patch test or an unsafe product, the results can be painful, disfiguring and distressing. If that has happened to you, our personal injury solicitors can help you claim compensation, in most cases on a no win, no fee basis.
To talk through what happened, call 0161 930 5151 or use our online contact form and we will call you back. The first conversation is free and without obligation.
You may be able to claim if you were injured because a salon, hairdresser or beautician failed to take reasonable care of you. Whether a claim succeeds depends on showing that the practitioner was at fault and that their failing caused your injury. Several areas of law can support a claim:
A very common thread in these claims is the failure to carry out a patch test or a proper consultation before treatment. Where a patch test would have revealed a sensitivity and it was skipped, or a known risk was not explained, that failure is often central to the claim.
We act for people injured by a wide range of hairdressing and beauty treatments, including:
Some of these injuries are serious. Significant burns or scarring may need specialist treatment, and where that is the case our wider burn injury and personal injury teams can help. Injuries can also cause real psychological distress, particularly where the face or appearance is affected, and that too can form part of a claim.
Signing a consent form does not sign away your right to claim. Consent forms and disclaimers cannot exclude liability for injury caused by negligence, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 prevents traders relying on unfair terms to avoid their obligation to work with reasonable care and skill. A consent form shows you were told about the ordinary risks of a treatment; it does not protect a practitioner who performs the treatment carelessly, skips a patch test, or ignores a warning sign. If you were injured despite signing a form, it is still worth taking advice.
Compensation usually falls into two parts. General damages compensate for the injury itself, including pain, scarring, and the psychological impact, assessed against the Judicial College Guidelines and comparable cases. Special damages cover financial losses you can evidence, such as the cost of corrective treatment, medical and prescription costs, lost earnings if you needed time off, and travel. Where corrective or ongoing treatment is needed, we can seek to recover those costs as part of the claim.
In most cases you have three years from the date of the treatment to start a court claim, under the Limitation Act 1980, or from the later date on which you first realised your injury was significant and linked to the treatment. Different rules apply if the person injured was under 18, where the three years does not begin until their 18th birthday, or lacks mental capacity. Because deadlines are strict and evidence such as photographs, product details and salon records is easier to secure early, it is best to seek advice as soon as you can.
We can take on most beauty and hairdressing injury claims under a conditional fee agreement, commonly called no win, no fee. If your claim does not succeed you do not pay our charges, and if it succeeds a success fee is deducted from your compensation, capped by law at 25% of certain parts of your damages. We will explain the funding and any deductions clearly before you commit, so there are no surprises.
Gorvins is a Legal 500 recognised firm based in Stockport, acting for injured people across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, the North West and throughout England and Wales. Our personal injury team has handled many claims arising from hairdressing and beauty treatments, and we understand that these injuries are not only physical but can knock your confidence, especially where your appearance is affected.
When you instruct us you will have a dedicated specialist handling your claim from start to finish, keeping you informed and taking the stress off you. We gather the evidence, obtain expert medical and, where needed, dermatological reports, deal with the salon and their insurers, and pursue the full compensation you are entitled to. It helps your claim if you keep photographs of the injury, any product names or packaging, appointment records and receipts, and if you seek medical attention promptly, but do not worry if you do not have everything, we can advise on what is needed.
To find out whether you can claim, call 0161 930 5151 or complete our online enquiry form and we will call you back to talk it through.
Possibly, yes. If you were injured because a salon, hairdresser or beautician failed to take reasonable care, you may have a claim in negligence and under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires services to be performed with reasonable care and skill. Whether a claim succeeds depends on showing fault and that it caused your injury, which we can assess for you.
Often, yes. Failing to carry out a patch test or a proper consultation before treatments such as hair colouring, waxing or laser is one of the most common grounds for a beauty injury claim. Where a patch test would have revealed a sensitivity and it was skipped, that failure is frequently central to establishing that the practitioner was negligent.
Yes, potentially. A consent form does not remove your right to claim if you were injured through negligence. Disclaimers cannot exclude liability for negligently caused injury, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015 prevents businesses relying on unfair terms to escape their duty to work with reasonable care and skill. A consent form shows you were told about ordinary risks; it does not protect a careless practitioner.
Common claims include chemical burns from dye, bleach or peels, burns from laser or heated tools, allergic reactions where no patch test was done, cuts from tools, and injuries or infections from eyelash extensions, nail treatments, microblading, semi-permanent make-up or piercings. Both physical injury and the psychological impact, particularly where your appearance is affected, can be part of a claim.
Usually three years from the date of the treatment, or from when you first realised your injury was significant and linked to it. Different rules apply for people under 18, where the three years starts at their 18th birthday, and for those who lack mental capacity. It is best to seek advice promptly, as deadlines are strict and evidence is easier to gather early.
In most cases we act on a no win, no fee basis, so you pay nothing towards our charges if the claim is unsuccessful. If it succeeds, a success fee is deducted from your compensation, capped by law at 25% of certain parts of your damages. We explain the funding and any deductions clearly before you commit.
