[S768]South Florida Personal Injury

After the recent success of Children in Need's Celebrity Scissor Hands, a number of school leavers might consider taking up the profession - especially if they want to live the dream of one day running their fingers through Orlando Bloom's barnet in the wash basin. However, little do they realise that the glamorous life of hairdressing could potentially result in having to contact a personal injury solicitor.

This year's big reality TV programme helped raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for Children in Need and encouraged even more people to take up hairdressing, hoping that one day they'll win the award for British Hairdresser of the Year.

But like most working environments, salons too have their fair share of potential risks and hazards and with so many people taking up the profession, it seems likely that there will be a number of compensation claims arising in the industry's future.

One such case arose in Adelaide, USA, when a woman decided to consult personal injury lawyers and claim against a salon for burn injuries she allegedly sustained four years ago. Maria Vlassis, 48, says that whilst having her hair blow-dried at Toni and Guy hairdressing on Rundle Street, she suffered second degree burns to her scalp, face and eyelids.

The salon strongly denies any claims that Ms Vlassis suffered injuries while on their premises and has refused to pay her a penny of injury compensation.

But it is not always the customer who could risk suffering a personal injury from taking a trip to their local salon, hairdressers themselves may also suffer workplace injuries by developing the skin disease, dermatitis. In recent months, more information has been published on the danger of hairdressers developing dermatitis through the constant washing, dying and drying of their customer's hair.

Officials across the UK are claiming that hairdressers are 20 times more likely to develop dermatitis than any other profession – possibly caused by health and safety regulations being ignored.

In Huntingdonshire, the District Council has launched a campaign to ensure companies are looking after their staff's well-being by making certain that they receive the correct training to carry out their work safely.

According to Dr Susan Lammin, the head of environmental and community health services, the most affective way of limiting a hairdresser's risk of suffering skin swelling, blistering, flaking and itching is by wearing gloves. By taking this precaution, a number of salon owners could reduce the risk of personal injury claims being made against them.

Dr Lammin said, "It is very important to encourage good health and safety practices at work for hairdressers.

"Education is a key as it's important that hairdressers know how to protect themselves, what to look out for and what to do if they develop a skin problem."

In Liverpool, similar campaigns are taking place as the council's health and safety team visit hairdressing salons across the city to make sure companies educate staff about the risk of developing dermatitis.

Councillor Berni Turner said, "One of the main causes of dermatitis is having wet hands for long periods of time as well as being in contact with chemicals, which is why hairdressers are so prone to the condition.

"It's important that our health and safety team get out to Liverpool businesses to warn them of the dangers and let them know what they can do to avoid such a painful and uncomfortable skin problem."

Over the festive season, a number of people will visit a salon to have their hair styled for their work Christmas party or New Year celebrations. Therefore, it's important that health and safety messages are put across to people working in the hairdressing business.

There are a number of ways employees can protect themselves at work, including changing gloves, using moisturiser and checking for early signs of dermatitis. If these safety measures are carried out, fewer hairdressers will visit personal injury solicitors in the future to make injury compensation claims.

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