Suing the Salon

A guy I know who is slightly famous had a head of dreadlocks, the dreads were his trademark. He got into all the parties, was invited to all the events and got the girls because of his flowing hair. He treated his hair like a child, constantly pruning and preening.

Then one day, he decided he needed to have his dreads tightened, so he goes to the salon to see a specialist, and in one foul squirt of a bottle, the dreads became dreadful. He walked in looking cool and walked out looking like an unravelled octopus. The hairdresser had used a product which left a residue that just would not wash out. He had put years of effort into having beautiful dreadlocks, and was now faced with the thing he dreaded most in the world, to cut his pride and joy off, one by one.

The question he asked, in a state of rage, was if he could sue the salon. He probably could if they had been negligent, in other words they had not taken the proper care, lacked the necessary skills or experience, which would have been misrepresentation.

The obvious follow up question is how much? It would depend on how much the effect that the damage had on his life. A model or a celebrity who relies on their particular look or image would have suffered far more than a person who relies on their knowledge or ability to earn a living.

Additionally, from a social perspective, the loss of enjoyment of life coupled with the loss of self-esteem, image and confidence that comes with a great hairdo is called “Pain and Suffering” and can be considered as a loss deserving of an award.

In practice the court might award you the cost of the cut, and maybe a few extra bucks for any corrective measures that you had to get to make yourself look presentable again. The Small Claims Court would probably be the best forum to take this case to.

It doesn’t really compensate for the loss of years of growing your hair and carefully styling it, but hair will grow back and vanity will prevail.

Article by Garry Hertzberg, practising attorney at Hertzberg Salant www.Insurancelaw.co.za. This article by Garry Hertzberg was first published in the Caxton Johannesburg North Local Newspapers.