Chelsea Niziankiewicz v. Vision Salon & Spa (2014)

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

This case arises out of a personally claimed by the plaintiff, Chelsea Niziankiewicz, against the defendant, Vison Salon & Spa, LLC, located in South Windsor, Connecticut.   The plaintiff appeared for a hearing in damages on January 21, 2014, pursuant to her motion for judgment after default (# 108).   The default of the defendant was entered on June 4, 2013.   Both the plaintiff and her mother testified.   Medical bills, medical records and photographs were entered as an exhibit.   Also, included in the exhibit was a cost estimate of future medical procedures.

The plaintiff testified that on August 9, 2011, she went to the defendant salon for the purpose of getting her hair colored and highlighted.   She was seventeen (17) years old at the time.   She showed the stylist, a male, photographs of how she wanted it to look.   About thirty to forty minutes after he applied the color, she felt burning at the top of her scalp.   When she reported that her scalp was burning, the stylist rinsed her hair and then put her under heat for fifteen to twenty minutes.   It became so painful she just wanted to go home.   When she looked at her scalp at home, it was red on top and so painful that she cried.   Her scalp continued to be extremely painful and thereafter became blistered and infected.   In addition to being painful and unsightly, the wound had an unpleasant odor.   Because she now has a substantial bald spot on the top of her head, she has to comb and fasten her hair in a particular way to hide it from view.

The exhibits reflect that after seeking initial medical treatment from her family physician and a walk-in clinic, on September 8, 2011, the plaintiff's father took her to see Stephen Belinkie, M.D., a plastic surgeon.   Dr. Belinkie noted that the plaintiff had a “deep 2nd degree burn, 3 x 4 cm with a granulating base.”   On December 20, 2011, he noted that wound had healed completely but “[s]he's left with a scar on the scalp which is non-hair bearing measuring about 4 cm in diameter.”   He referred her to a hair transplant specialist, Scott Boden, M.D. Dr. Boden reported that the plaintiff has an area of “permanent scarring alopecia,” “secondary to her injury caused by a bleaching agent on August 9, 2011.”   He noted that surgical repair will likely require two procedures, one year apart.   The cost of the first is expected to be $4,560 plus tax and the second is expected to be $3,200 plus tax.

The plaintiff's mother testified that the plaintiff was inconsolable during the first few days after the injury.   She stated that the plaintiff suffered headaches and subsequently became depressed, stopped caring about her appearance and would not go out.

Based on all the foregoing evidence, the court finds that the plaintiff has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the August 9, 2011 color treatment at the defendant salon was a substantial factor in causing the scalp burn and consequent hair loss she suffered on August 9, 2011.   Accordingly, the court hereby awards fair, just and reasonable past economic damages of $1,161.11;  future economic damages of $8,050;  and, non-economic damages, past and future, including physical pain and suffering, mental suffering, loss of enjoyment of certain life activities, and permanent impairment, including the amount of $80,000, for a total judgment of $89,211.11, plus costs of $348.81.

Peck, J.

Peck, A. Susan, J.