By Cat Way. Last Updated 14th February 2024. In this guide, we offer information and advice on scalp injury claims against a hairdresser. Have you suffered a burnt scalp injury at a hairdressers? If so, you could be entitled to make a personal injury claim for compensation if the injury was caused by negligence by the hairdresser you visited.
A burnt scalp can be caused by numerous things while at a hairdresser. Potential causes can include bleach, hair dye, hairdryers, curling irons and straightening irons. When customers visit a hairdresser, the business owes each customer a duty of care. As part of their duty of care, they must take reasonable steps to minimise the risk of customers suffering from injuries such as a hair bleach burn, minor bleach burn on the scalp or a severe chemical burn from hair bleach.
Read on to learn more about when and how you could make a claim for a burnt scalp injury. You are welcome to speak to our team of advisors for more help by calling 0800 073 8804. You can also contact us online through our website or by using the 24/7 live chat service.
Select a Section
- What Is A Burnt Scalp Injury?
- Can I Claim Compensation For A Burnt Scalp?
- Can I Claim For A Chemical Burn?
- A Hairdresser Burnt My Scalp With Hair Dye, Can I Claim?
- Can I Claim If A Hairdresser Burnt My Scalp With A Hair Dryer?
- Can I Claim Compensation For A Scalp Burn From Bleach?
- How Much Compensation Could I Claim For A Burnt Scalp?
- Make A No Win No Fee Burnt Scalp Compensation Claim
What Is A Burnt Scalp Injury?
A severe allergic reaction to hair dye can be equally, if not more dangerous than rubbing bleach into your scalp. Some serious reactions can lead to death. In the same way, someone with a serious nut allergy may die from consuming nuts.
Other notable causes of burns at hairdressers are burns caused by heat-styling tools such as hair dryers, curling irons and straightening irons. Straightening and curling irons commonly rise to 220-240 degrees Celsius. If one of these touches your face or scalp, it may lead to a burnt scalp injury that leaves a facial scar injury.
Can I Claim Compensation For A Burnt Scalp?
If you have suffered a chemical burn on your scalp following a visit to your hairdresser, you may be wondering whether you could be eligible to claim compensation.
To be able to make a personal injury claim for a hair bleach burn, you will need to prove that you suffered your injury due to the hairdresser providing you with the treatment breaching their duty of care. A breach of duty of care that results in an injury is known as negligence.
For example, if your hairdresser failed to perform a patch test before bleaching your hair, and as a result, you suffered a bleach burn on your scalp, you might be eligible to make a claim.
In addition to proving negligence occurred, you must start your claim within the relevant limitation period. Typically, this is three years from the date that you suffered your injury.
However, there are certain exceptions to this 3-year time limit. These include claims being made for:
- Those who lack the mental capacity to claim for themselves. The limitation period is indefinitely suspended. During this time, a court-appointed litigation friend could make a claim on their behalf. However, if the injured party regains this mental capacity, they will have three years from that date to start a claim if one has not already been made.
- Those under the age of 18. The time limit is paused until their 18th birthday. Again, a litigation friend could claim on their behalf during this time. Once they turn 18, they will have three years to start a claim if one has not already been made.
Call our advisors to find out more about starting a claim for hairdresser injury compensation.
What Are The Symptoms Of A Burnt Scalp?
- Red, inflamed skin
- Dry skin
- Soreness
- Blistering skin
You should seek medical advice if you have any of the above burn symptoms after a burnt scalp injury.
In this guide, we take an in-depth look at the types of burn injuries you could suffer, possible causes for these injuries, and we will advise you on how to proceed with your burnt scalp injury claim. You will find useful information on how to treat your burns and give you an idea of how much personal injury compensation you could potentially claim.
Can I Claim For A Chemical Burn?
Sustaining a chemical burn from bleaching hair could cause serious harm. In addition to burning your hair follicles, bad chemical burns from hair bleach can result in blisters, facial swelling, and irreversible hair loss. There is a good chance that this condition will require medical attention, potentially even skin grafts. For any chemical burns, the NHS advises visiting a hospital’s Accident & Emergency department since they are classed as more significant injuries.
We recommend you seek medical attention immediately following chemical burns and scalds. Treating your injury is a top priority, but a report from the hospital or doctor could also provide crucial evidence of the accident occurring if you wish to make a claim. Furthermore, we would recommend that you take any photographs of your injuries and collect the contact details of any witnesses to the accident. In hairdressing compensation claims, these can be used as evidence for the injury or the negligence that caused it.
In order to make a successful claim, it is also important that you can establish the following:
- Your hairdresser owed you a duty of care
- That duty of care was breached in an act of negligence
- You were injured as a result
If you suffered a hairdresser injury, compensation claims could be a route you want to take. If so, we can advise you on what steps to take at no extra cost to you if you get in touch.
A Hairdresser Burnt My Scalp With Hair Dye, Can I Claim?
If you suffered from a hair dye scalp burn, or a bleach burn, you may be able to claim if you can prove negligence on behalf of your hairdresser. A bleach burn on your scalp can occur because hair dye contains an allergen known as paraphenylenediamine (PPD). If the skin is exposed to PPD it could become blistered or cracked. This may cause a burning sensation, hence causing a scalp chemical burn.
Should your hairdresser fail to ask you about your allergies, or if they apply too much hair dye, you may have a serious allergic reaction which could happen immediately. For example, you may experience an anaphylactic shock. According to the NHS, symptoms of a hair dye reaction could include:
- Your scalp, neck, forehead, ears or eyelids becoming irritated and inflamed
- Swelling, blistering, thickening or cracking of the skin
- The skin feeling dry
Following a personal injury caused by a hairdresser’s negligence, in which you suffered scalp burns from bleach, or you had an allergic reaction, speak to our advisors. They offer free, no-obligation advice.
Can I Claim If A Hairdresser Burnt My Scalp With A Hair Dryer?
Many individuals use hair dryers daily in households across the UK. We rarely give a second thought to the types of burns that a hairdryer can give us. The scalp can burn at temperatures above 60 degrees Celsius, and most hair dryers can produce heat much hotter than this. Since many of us do it every day, you would think that all professional hairdressers would know how to dry hair without causing a burnt scalp injury safely.
Although professionals should know the correct and safest temperature for drying hair, they do not always apply their knowledge to their work. There could be instances where your hairdresser is rushing. They may need to make time for their next client, so they turn the heat up to dry your hair quicker. A hairdresser could also carelessly leave the dryer blowing on one spot of your head for too long, which could cause a burnt scalp injury.
Another consideration that a professional hairdresser should be aware of is that the barrel of the hairdryer can get very hot and stays hot for some time after switching the appliance off. Should your hairdresser not be paying attention to what they are doing, they could touch your head with the hot barrel of the hairdryer and cause a burnt scalp injury.
By order of the Provision And Use Of Work Equipment Regulations Act Of 1998, Hairdryers and other electrical appliances must be regularly tested. They should be tested and maintained for the safety of their clients and their staff to minimise cases such as burnt scalp injury.
An individual should never have to suffer hairdryer burns at a hair salon. It shouldn’t happen, but it does. If a hairdresser is negligent enough to cause a burn from simply drying a client’s hair, imagine the damage, they could do with bleach, hair dye, or other heat-styling tools such as a curling iron. It is unacceptable and very unprofessional, so this might result in scalp injury claims against a hairdresser.
For more information on seeking compensation for burnt hair caused by a faulty hairdryer, call our team on the number above. Alternatively, if you have experienced hair foils burning your hair, an advisor can assess whether you’re eligible to claim.
Can I Claim Compensation For A Scalp Burn From Bleach?
If you suffered a bleach burn on your scalp due to a breach of the duty of care your hairdresser owes you, you could potentially claim.
To give an example, hairdressers should administer a patch test at least 24 hours before a treatment. This is when a small amount of the product they intend to use is applied to your skin to check for any adverse reactions.
Some people may be more susceptible to burns than others. Therefore, if no patch test is carried out, and a burn is sustained despite everything being properly applied, this could be an example of when you could claim due to hairdresser negligence.
To find out more about hairdressing compensation claims, get in touch with our advisors today.
How Much Compensation Could I Claim For A Burnt Scalp?
If you’re eligible to start a chemical burn injury claim, you might be interested in knowing about chemical burn compensation amounts. To give you an idea, we have taken figures from the 16th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to create the table below.
The JCG is often used by legal professionals alongside medical evidence to value personal injury claims. The publication features a variety of injuries, both physical and psychological, and offers compensation amounts based on settlements awarded in previous court cases.
Please note, however, that the figures below should only be used as guidelines. Your final settlement figure would account for both general and special damages.
| Type of Injury | Compensation Amounts | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries Plus Special Damages | Up to £300,000+ | This includes compensation for the pain and suffering as well as financial losses such as amounts for cosmetic surgery and loss of earnings. |
| Severe burn injury | Likely to exceed £104,830 | May lead to continuous physical and psychological injuries. |
| Severe post-traumatic stress disorder | £59,860 to £100,670 | Debilitating symptoms that may impact work and social life. Likely to be permanent in nature. |
| Moderately Severe post-traumatic stress disorder | £23,150 to £59,860 | A better prognosis than very severe PTSD is achieved due to professional help that leads to some recovery. |
| Very severe scarring | £29,780 to £97,330 | Higher awards generally go to younger people. Serious psychological problems are likely to follow the injury. |
| Less severe scarring | £17,960 to £48,420 | Substantial disfigurement and serious psychological reaction. |
| Significant scarring | £9,110 to £30,090 | Noticeable scar that is within the area of back, leg or arm. |
| Less Significant scarring | £3,950 to £13,740 | There could be one scar, or a number of small scars, to mar appearance but not greatly affect it. |
| Hair Damage (a) | £7,340 to £11,020 | The hair is damaged which results in depression, embarrassment and distress. |
What Else Can I Be Compensated For?
Your bleach chemical burn claim could also result in special damages. This head of claim allows you to recoup the financial losses you suffered due to your injuries. For example, if the burn is severe, you may not be able to work for a while. Should this be the case, you could potentially claim back the earnings you lose as a result.
If you suffered an injury caused by hair dye or a scalp burn from bleach, special damages could also potentially cover the cost of:
- Medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter.
- Childcare.
- Domestic help.
It’s important to note that you will need to provide evidence of your losses in order to claim under this heading. Because of this, it can be helpful to save things like receipts, bank statements, and invoices related to your injuries.
To learn more about claiming compensation for a chemical burn caused by bleach or hair dye, contact our team today.
Make A No Win No Fee Burnt Scalp Compensation Claim
We provide a No Win No Fee service for all of our clients. The beauty of No Win No Fee compensation claims is that anyone can make one, regardless of their financial situation.
No Win No Fee claims, also known as Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs), are unique in that clients pay no upfront legal costs for their burnt scalp injury compensation claims. You will provide your expert solicitor with the information they need during your free initial consultation. Then the solicitor will pursue your case, keeping you in involved as much as possible.
If your claim is successful, you’ll pay a success fee from your compensation. This is legally capped. If you don’t win your compensation, you won’t pay a success fee to your solicitor for pursuing your claim. If you don’t win, you don’t pay. It’s that simple.
To learn more about claiming burnt scalp injury compensation from an advisor, call us on 0800 073 8804. You can, alternatively, contact our team online by using our online contact form or our live chat service.
Thank you for reading our scalp injury claims against a hairdresser guide.
