By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 3rd October 2024. Using sun beds or tanning beds as they are often referred to is widely seen as a fast and convenient way to get a natural tan without having to wait till summer or travel overseas. In recent years, sunbed treatments have been popularized by celebrities and reality TV stars. However, using a sunbed, just the same as extended exposure to the sun’s UV rays can damage your skin, tanning using a sunbed has inherent risks as well. In this guide we’ll look at when sunbed injury claims may be possible, and the steps involved in making this type of claim.
If you have suffered a tanning salon sunbed injury that was caused by negligent actions on the part of the salon where you were treated; you could be entitled to make a sunbed injury compensation claim.
If you would like to speak to an adviser about making a claim for a sunbed burn, you can contact Legal Expert online or by phone for help. To call us, dial 0800 073 8804 and you can get a free consultation. To contact us online, you can use our claim online form or our live chat service. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.
Select A Section
- Are You Eligible To Make A Tanning Salon Claim?
- What Injuries Can You Suffer From A Sunbed In A Tanning Salon?
- Top Tips For Proving Sunbed Claims
- Time Limit For Tanning Salon Injury Claims
- Sunbed Burns – How Is Compensation Calculated For A Tanning Injury?
- No Win No Fee Solicitors For Sun Burns Victims
- Useful Links
Are You Eligible To Make A Tanning Salon Claim?
As a service open to the public, the person in control of the tanning salon owes you a duty of care under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.
This is a responsibility to make sure that their services have been made practically safe and that the salon and their staff do not cause you harm. Part of this responsibility involves taking reasonable steps to reduce or remove the risk any hazards pose. Sun bed tanning can carry an inherent risk, but it is their responsibility to manage this risk as best they can. They can do this by both informing you of the risks that come with their services, and by making sure the services and machinery they provide are safe and run as well as reasonably can be:
If you were burnt on a sunbed because of reasons such as:
- The staff failing to properly monitor you, or warn you of excessive tanning times
- A faulty tanning bed that the person in control was aware of
Then you could be eligible to make a claim for your injuries as they may have breached their duty of care to you.
To see if you are eligible for compensation for the injuries or losses you suffered because you were burnt from sunbed tanning, then please reach out to one of our advisors now.
What Injuries Can You Suffer From A Sunbed In A Tanning Salon?
There are several different injuries that could potentially be part of a tanning sunbed burn claim. Potential injuries may be caused due to overexposure to the ultraviolet radiation (UV) emitted from the fluorescent bulbs usually installed in tanning salon beds. Examples of potential injuries after being burnt on a sunbed could include:
- Sunburn from UV rays which leads to symptoms including redness, irritation and peeling of the skin.
- Burns which cause damage to your hair or significant scarring on your body.
- A heat rash that affects the skin.
- Injuries to the eyes, such as burns to the cornea or cataracts.
- Physical injuries experienced due to an incident at a tanning salon may be traumatic and lead to psychiatric harm as well.
If you have suffered sunbed burns in a tanning salon accident caused by a party that owed you a duty of care, then you may have valid grounds to claim compensation for the suffering you’ve experienced. Contact our advisors for free today to learn more about how you can start a claim and what steps are involved.
Top Tips For Proving Sunbed Claims
Sunbed injury claims need to be proved with evidence. You will need to prove all three aspects of negligence, namely that a duty was owed to you, the duty was breached and that this breach caused your injury.
Here are some of the examples of evidence that can be used to prove a sunbed burn case:
- Staff Training Records: These can be requested to make sure that the staff in the tanning salon were adequately trained. If they were not, they may have failed to advise you about the correct length of time you should stay on a sunbed.
- Maintenance Records: Equipment such as sunbeds should be regularly inspected and well maintained. If not, and they do not work properly you could be injured. For example, they may produce a far greater amount of UV radiation than they should if they are defective. This could lead to being burnt from a sunbed much faster than normally expected.
- CCTV Footage: There may be relevant CCTV footage that shows the staff in the tanning salon failing to discharge their duty.
- Medical Records: These will show that you suffered a sunbed burn and they will likely also comment on the severity of them. This could be in the form of GP records, walk in centre or hospital records. Treatment notes or test results can also be useful.
- A Medical Report: As part of the claims process you could be invited to go for an independent medical assessment. This would produce a report that discusses your injuries and also the long term prognosis.
Time Limit For Tanning Salon Injury Claims
The time limit for personal injury claims is generally three years from the date you were injured, as outlined under the Limitation Act 1980. However, there can be exceptions made to the personal injury claims time limit.
For example, if someone without the mental capacity to claim was injured by sunbed negligence, the time limit would be frozen. If they ever recovered to a degree of being able to represent themselves, they would have the usual 3 years apply. However, if this does not occur, a litigation friend may make a claim on their behalf at any time.
Get in touch, and our advisors can inform you if you are still within the personal injury claims time limit.
Sunbed Burns – How Is Compensation Calculated For A Tanning Injury
In this section, we look at the compensation you could receive for your tanning bed injury. You may have used our compensation calculator to see how much your claim could be worth. However, this may not have considered every part of your claim.
As stated above, your payout may be made up of both general damages and special damages. In successful claims, general damages compensate for the pain and suffering caused by your injuries, including sunbed burns. To help arrive at a value for pain and suffering, legal professionals use a text called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This is a document that lists various injuries and potential severity with compensation brackets.
Our table below lists potential injuries you could suffer from a tanning bed. The compensation brackets are from the latest updates. As with our calculator, we can’t give you an exact figure. These figures should be used as a guide only.
| Injury or illness type | Severity | Guideline Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple Serious Injuries And Special Damages | Serious | Up to £250,000+ |
| Significant Burn Injuries | Causing continued physical and mental pain | Likely to exceed £127,930 |
| Facial Scarring | Very severe | £36,340 to £118,790 |
| Facial Scarring | Less severe | £21,920 to £59,090 |
| Facial Scarring | Significant | £11,120 to £36,720 |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderately severe | £23,270 to £66,920 |
| Psychiatric Damage | Moderate | £7,150 to £23,270 |
| Scars Across The Body | Several noticeable laceration scars or one disfiguring scar | £9,560 to £27,740 |
| Scars Across The Body | Either one noticeable scar or several superficial scars | £2,890 to £9,560 |
| Damage To Hair | (a) Burns causing hair loss | £8,960 to £13,450 |
If you would like a free, more accurate valuation for your claim for burns from a tanning bed, please call our advisors. They can look at the specifics of your case and provide you with a bespoke estimate.
No Win No Fee Solicitors For Sun Burns Victims
Personal injury claim payouts could be sought with the help of No Win No Fee solicitors. If you’ve been burnt from a sunbed and decide to take legal action, their services could be provided under the terms of a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
A CFA is a type of No Win No Fee. Under this a solicitor typically won’t charge upfront for their services, nor will there be ongoing costs to pay. If your personal injury claim is successful, a legally capped success fee will be taken from the award. Should your claim prove unsuccessful, you will not pay for your solicitor’s services.
You can get in touch with our advisors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for a free assessment of your eligibility to claim compensation if you’ve been burnt by a sunbed. We can connect you with our specialist solicitors if your case is eligible.
To get in touch:
- Call 0800 073 8804.
- Start your claim online.
- Use our live chat.
Useful Links
To find out more about making similar personal injury claims, please look at these useful links.
Burn Injury Compensation Claims
If you have suffered from a burn injury find out how much compensation you can claim.
Beauty Salon Injury Claims
have you been injured in a beauty salon? If so, find out how to make a beauty salon injury claim with this guide.
Hair Salon Injury Claim Case Study
View a real world case study to see how a personal injury claim works.
Sunbeds and Skin Cancer
Find out more about the relationship between sunbeds and skin cancer in this article by the NHS.
Cancer Research And Sunbeds
Further information on sunbed usage from the cancer charity, Cancer Research UK
Find out what to do if your foot was ran over by a car with our guide.
If you’re interested in speaking to an adviser to ask questions about sunbed injury claims, then you can contact Legal Expert. You can reach our advisers using the contact details provided in this guide.
