Can she sue?

[Chocolatebananas]

I have never been in this situation before and hope I never am again!

Saturday 30th of July, I had a perm booked in at 1 o'clock. (as I am a newly level 3 qualified hairdresser.) I didn't book the client in, a friend who used to work with me did. And from recently leaving college, I assumed he did a skin and strand test, as they do in college. As I was busy with another client I didn't actually check the condition of the hair, it did look healthy.
So, I began putting the rods in, but when I reached the top I noticed her hair and broken off and was actually on quite bad condition! I told her I didn't want to risk finishing the perm because of it! She told me and I quote, 'i have not sat throught 2 and a half hours of putting them in to not have it!' i felt sorry for her, but still warned her, it could fall out/disintergrate and I don't want you to leave unhappy. She told me, she wanted it, carry on!
I finished putting the rods in and before putting the perm lotion on I asked her, 'are you sure?' and she snapped at me 'yes' so I did as she asked, continuesly checked of the hair was curling and left on for recommended time.
The outcome was a lot worse than I anticipated, she couldn't actually put her fingers through her hair, it was like spaghetti! I tried to explain what went wrong to her and my senior stylist, but she wouldn't stop screaming at me! She rang her husband to come down, and he brought 2 of his friends with him, he then rang a solicitor and a hairdresser and both said she can sue me personally as I am self employed and the salon! She lied and told her husband and friends I hadn't warned her! My senior stylist gave her a refund, lots of free products and cut all damged hair off! It is about 2inches max, but it does really suit her! It's stylish and manageable. Her husband took the worst parts of the hair with him and said expect a solicitors letter, what can I do? Any advice would be highly appreciated!

 

[MrsF]

Unfortunately she probably can sue! you must go to the Citizens advice bureau tomorrow and ask for their help or go to a solicitor yourself and explain what happened. Didn't your senior stylist give you some advice?

You made the classic mistake of asking the customers' opinion when you should have checked with a more experienced stylist whether they agreed it was acceptable to proceed. Can anyone back up your claim you warned her of the consequences?

It seems rather odd to me that it took you so long to put the rods in quote "'i have not sat throught 2 and a half hours of putting them in to not have it!'' if any solution was on her hair for that long no wonder it started to break off!

 

Have you got a witness to you warning her.?

Earl

 

[Chocolatebananas]

I am absolutely horrified with what had happened! I spent 2 hours apologising to a screaming woman and angry husband, I can't begin to imagine how she must feel, but I don't know if she's going too far in my own opinion!

 

[papverpoppies]

Unfortunately she probably can sue! you must go to the Citizens advice bureau tomorrow and ask for their help or go to a solicitor yourself and explain what happened. Didn't your senior stylist give you some advice?

You made the classic mistake of asking the customers' opinion when you should have checked with a more experienced stylist whether they agreed it was acceptable to proceed. Can anyone back up your claim you warned her of the consequences?

It seems rather odd to me that it took you so long to put the rods in quote "'i have not sat throught 2 and a half hours of putting them in to not have it!'' if any solution was on her hair for that long no wonder it started to break off!

No, as I read it, the perming lotion was not applied until the rods were all in place.

Pops ~xx~

 

[Chocolatebananas]

It was a spiral perm, her hair was below shoulder length, lotion goes on after rods are in, and I don't have a witness as I haven't spoke to other collegues as of yet! I stayed behind for 3 hours after it happened crying while she had her hair cut!

 

[Chocolatebananas]

And it was only her parting area that was like that, the rest of her hair was not visably/too physically ruined!

 

[MrsF]

I am absolutely horrified with what had happened! I spent 2 hours apologising to a screaming woman and angry husband, I can't begin to imagine how she must feel, but I don't know if she's going too far in my own opinion!

Maybe she was going too far but if she feels her looks have been ruined you can't blame her!

Fingers crossed she will have calmed down by now. Did you think to offer her a free course of conditioning treatments too to get her hair back in order asap?

 

[lockyer]

Firstly, calm down stressing wont solve things, yes she can sue, but that isn't the end of the world. Mistakes happen and this is why people have insurance.

Second thing is notify your insurers that you have had an incident that is "likely to result in a claim"

Whilst everything is fresh in your mind write it all down as a statement, so you cab refer to it later.

If the solicitors letter does arrive, just forward it to you insurers by recorded delivery, with a covering letter from you and the statement.

Do not respond to the letter, do not admit liability.Let your insurers sort it out.

You've learned a lesson today... do not let the tail wag the dog i.e if you know you are right, stick to your guns. The only mistake you made was listening to the customer, then following their instructions not your brain

 

[MrsF]

Firstly, calm down stressing wont solve things, yes she can sue, but that isn't the end of the world. Mistakes happen and this is why people have insurance.

Second thing is notify your insurers that you have had an incident that is "likely to result in a claim"

Whilst everything is fresh in your mind write it all down as a statement, so you cab refer to it later.

If the solicitors letter does arrive, just forward it to you insurers by recorded delivery, with a covering letter from you and the statement.

Do not respond to the letter, do not admit liability.Let your insurers sort it out.

You've learned a lesson today... do not let the tail wag the dog i.e if you know you are right, stick to your guns. The only mistake you made was listening to the customer, then following their instructions not your brain

Brilliant advise here from Lockyer and note the bit about calm down! Get your self off to bed, things will look better in the morning.

 

[Wild Goose]

I'd add to the good advice you've already received that you should under no circumstances discuss the matter with (a) the customer or any of her entourage; or (b) the people you rent the chair from.

The former should be easy enough: if any of your customer's party try to further discuss matters with you it might well be an attempt to firm up their case by eg attempting to get you to admit liability. Don't dig youself further in it by going over matters with them. Instead you should inform them that since they have made clear their intention to pursue legal proceedings then you are unable to discuss the matter with them. If you like, tell them you've been advised not to discuss the matter ahead of court.

They will likely pursue a claim for damges, which can include an amount not only for financial loss but for pain and sufference, for what they will claim was a mistake on your part. The legal term is "negligence" - an ugly word in everyday use, but in legal parlance an act or omission on your part. To be successful the other side will need to convince a court that you did not perform a reasonable enough standard of "care". Since it is likely that you have already dug yourself in it by explaining your mistake and all but admitting to them that you didn't perform the necessary checks, and that the other side have witnesses enough to get them over the practical hurdle of proof, then any further discussion with them will only serve to reinforce their case and so be to your detriment.

Civil cases - unlike criminal cases - tend to be decided on the balance of proof, which means that the other side don't have to demonstrate or proove beyond reasonable doubt that your actions were negligent; a 60% / 40% probability would be sufficient for a court to decide in their favour. So on the face of it they have a case. (Incidentally, most cases are settled before they ever get to court, especially if your insurers are involved. The legal expenses are likely to outweigh any award). The (60% / 40%) balance of proof criteria could work in your favour as a court may well believe it likely that you did spot your customer's hair falling out and discuss the matter with her, and from that point on act in accordance with her instructions. In other words they might, on balance, disbelieve her denials.

The issues are likely to be:

Whether it was reasonable for you to assume that the checks had already been carried out by your colleague - is it standard procedure for you or the person booking them in to perform tests or interrogate clients for any medical conditions / history and the like?

How forseeable was it that, having discovered the hair loss, any continuance might lead to spaghetti disaster?

Whether your client contributed to the damage by not informing you of any pre-existing conditions; and certainly by instructing you to continue after you had noticed the damage. Contributory negligence is well demonstrated by the text book case of Sayers v Harlow Urban District Council in which a fat lady found herself locked in a public lavatory, whereupon she decided to effect her escape by climbing over the top of the cubicle. Inevitably she fell and injured herself. She successfully sued the local authority for the faulty door lock which led to the pain and sufference of her injuries, but was found to have conributed to her own injuries by her actions. Her award was reduced accordingly (by 25%, although who is to say that

The extent of the damge caused. Damages for negligence can include both financial loss and pain and suffering. On the face of she has suffered little or no financial loss: she received a full refund, and presumably didn't miss work or any other vital appointments as a result of her extended stay in your chair, and given the repair effected by your senior colleague she needn't miss work on Monday. So her financial loss is arguably limited to the cost of her husband and his mates travelling to your salon. As for pain and sufference, the real question will be how permanent is the damage? Will her hair ever grow again, or is it damaged long-tem? And just how bad was the shock to her?

Those factors will decide the strength of her case, and the amounts of her claim. Unless the damages claim is large, she's unlikely to go to court if she isn't at least 60% sure of winning, as she might get landed with both sides' legal costs. For your part, you must concentrate on defending the above points: the idea being to limit the scope and extent of her claim and the amount of damages she might receive. But certainly don't make matters worse by further discussion and confirming your liability.

So much for not discussing matters with the other party. I'd also said that you shouldn't discuss the matter with the salon owners. That's trickier, because your senior colleague did put matters right, for which you owe her a good deal of thanks. It may seem a little churlish not to discuss matters with her, so you're going to have to be diplomatic but tight lipped. The reason? Well recall that your hapless customer was threatening not only to sue you but also the salon. It may well be the case that the salon owner(s) is/are equally responsible for any negligence on your part, and for any damages. That's called "vicarious liability", a situation where an employer can be held responsible for the acts (or omissions) of his employees and similarly a contractor for his sub-contractors. That's why if tomorrow on your walk to work you fall into a hole dug by British gas that hasn't been properly cordened off then you'd sue British Gas as wellas or instead of the self employed contractors who negligently failed to put up a barrier or a warning sign. Get the idea? Essentially the salon owner is in the same boat as you, and you mustn't say anything to your detriment that might leave you carrying the can and let the salon off scot-free.

Long post - hope it gives you the global picture, and convets the necessity for you to keep your own counsel so far as is possible. The ball is in the other side's court, and except for gathering statements from your colleague(s) there's little you can do until the other side makes their move.

 

[Chocolatebananas]

Thankyou very very much for the advice, it has really helped!
A quick question though, should I write down my statement, then write a defence aswell for questions that will most likely or may occur? Such as, why did you assume your collegue had already done the checks?

 

[lockyer]

Just your version of events, and any useful info. Chances are your insurers will come out and see you face to face to discuss it if she files a claim. If you have the statement to hand it makes things a lot easier.

Remember she has 3 years to submit a claim and if you have it all written down mow it will be easier to remeber the details

 

[clubJWP]

It was a spiral perm, her hair was below shoulder length, lotion goes on after rods are in, and I don't have a witness as I haven't spoke to other collegues as of yet! I stayed behind for 3 hours after it happened crying while she had her hair cut!

I dont htink there will be too much of trouble, try to meet her and apologies again, i am sure she reacted that way in the spur of the moment, she wouldn't take it to the courts i guess

 

[Richie N]

I'm a bit confused with "my friend who used to work with me booked her in", did they recently leave or something?
Surely, you can't just let a friend book someone in and then assume they would have taken the strand test, as a stylist isn't it your responsibility?

I guess it's a lesson to be learnt...

 

[matt seymour]

Let me get this straight.

A woman is planning to sue because her perm went a bit wrong and she ended up having a couple of inches cut off her hair to sort it out?

Give me strength!

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

It depends what actually caused the damage. Was it putting the rods in, or was it applying the product? If you put the rods in and were then able to remove them without any damage, then you're in a better position, as you warned her ample times about the product and she still consented. Hopefully you have a witness who heard the warnings you gave her.

If it did come down to actually being sued, it isn't actually such a straightforward case for her. She can sue you to cover the costs of the damage, but when it comes to suing for 'damages', she has to provide evidence that the situation has caused long-term stress, harm or disruption to her life. If she can't provide a strong enough case to prove that, then the pay out may be small, or she may receive nothing at all.

Look at whiplash as a good example. Someone with 6+ months of pain and discomfort can often only receive £1,000 to £2,000, so how much can she expect to receive if there has been hair damage and a resulting hair cut which actually quite suits her anyway?

Think about it, what WILL she sue you for? An unpleasent afternoon?

I'd actually say there's a possibility that this won't go any further anyway. The wife and husband would have been high on emotions at that moment, but after numerous days, they will calm down and be able to reflect on the situation more sensibly. It takes a lot for someone to push ahead with a legal case which starts racking up expensive legal fees and a lot of time - especially when there's no guarantee of success.

So yes, as people have said, don't worry!

 

[MrsPWN]

Let me get this straight.

A woman is planning to sue because her perm went a bit wrong and she ended up having a couple of inches cut off her hair to sort it out?

Give me strength!

I took it to mean the customer went from hair below her shoulders to hair about 2" ling

My senior stylist gave her a refund, lots of free products and cut all damged hair off! It is about 2inches max, but it does really suit her! It's stylish and manageable.

Maybe I am wrong?

 

[Chocolatebananas]

The only witness I havecis my boss, when I was telling the woman I wasn't going to risk it, by putting perm solution on, she snapped at me and made me feel very small. My boss shouted me over and asked if I was okay and if she still wanted it doing, my boss isn't a hairdresser, so she didn't know what was going on!

The rods take around 3hours to put in before the bad stuff goes on. She didn't pay for it, her friend did and she got a refund, we have offered for her to come back every week, to show her how she can use her products for her heir and for conditioning treatments..

 

[iArtist]

The only witness I havecis my boss, when I was telling the woman I wasn't going to risk it, by putting perm solution on, she snapped at me and made me feel very small. My boss shouted me over and asked if I was okay and if she still wanted it doing, my boss isn't a hairdresser, so she didn't know what was going on!

The rods take around 3hours to put in before the bad stuff goes on. She didn't pay for it, her friend did and she got a refund, we have offered for her to come back every week, to show her how she can use her products for her heir and for conditioning treatments..

The mistake you made was not checking her hair before you started

Two and half hours to put rods in??

I also did hair and beauty training (many many moons ago) and seriously, the responsibility for checking her hair BEFORE proceeding was yours, this was your mistake.

It is not a great way to start out in business but better you learn now how to do your job properly than proceed in business on the wrong foot.

It's a harsh lesson though and hopefully the woman and her hubby will all calm down and perhaps you can find a witness to what was said?

I don't think compensation in these cases is huge, firstly her hair was damaged to begin with and secondly it will grow.

It'll be ok I'm sure, meanwhile something to cheer you up

'However much you want to.....'

 

[Scousejock]

seriously what is this world coming to. Someone is going to sue because she had to have an extra 2 inches cut off her hair OMG.

You made a mistake and then spotted it you told her and it was her choice to proceed. This may not wash in a court of law (AND I dount very much it will) but she should take some responsibility herself.

Dont be too hard on yourself. It is human nature to make mistakes as we learn but what sets the good people out is what they do afterwards and what they learn from their mistake so it never happens again.

I wonder if my wife can sue on the same basis I remember a while ago she asked for a trim of her long hair and ended up with a bob. lol Her solution was to make sure she was clearer with instructions in the future and not to go back to the same place.

 

[matt seymour]

I took it to mean the customer went from hair below her shoulders to hair about 2" ling

My senior stylist gave her a refund, lots of free products and cut all damged hair off! It is about 2inches max, but it does really suit her! It's stylish and manageable.

Maybe I am wrong?

Either way it is ridiculous. Maybe I'm just too laid back and forgiving or something, but sometimes you have to accept that people make mistakes from time to time.

The woman in question has suffered nothing more than leaving a hairdressers with a haircut a lot shorter than she wanted. It grows back in a few months and everything is normal again.

If someone sees that as some kind of "trauma" worthy of legal action and financial gain, they are an idiot.

 

[Eagle]

My senior stylist gave her a refund, lots of free products...

Uh-oh. First mistake.

Admission of culpability.

 

[Eagle]

I'm assuming you and/or the salon has professional insurance? Yes? Sorted.

 

[Joekyut]

Great advice from Lockyer,
I agree with his advice and just want to ask you to cool down as your able to reason well when your calm rather than tense.

Mistakes happen to all and I guarantee you're not the first hair stylists to do this. I don't mean become careless but try learn from it, dust yourself and do better in future.

 

[easiprint]

As this thread was started a month ago, it would be nice if the OP could come back and let us know if anything happened?

 

[mit74]

Either way it is ridiculous. Maybe I'm just too laid back and forgiving or something, but sometimes you have to accept that people make mistakes from time to time.

The woman in question has suffered nothing more than leaving a hairdressers with a haircut a lot shorter than she wanted. It grows back in a few months and everything is normal again.

If someone sees that as some kind of "trauma" worthy of legal action and financial gain, they are an idiot.

there are many drama queens in this world unfortunately and too many people motivated by intolerance of other humans, revenge and money.

 

[WebTrust]

don't worry some people never stop saying there going to sue for this and that.

But this IS your fault, completely, you make sure a skin test is done. Learn from it and don't make the mistake again.

 

[Joekyut]

I guess am speaking on behalf of many others who have replied to this thread, we all would like to know whether she sued you or what happened.
A mistake is just but a mistake nothing much unless you decide to stick there.
Wish you all the best though.