Written for owners of hair salons, barbershops, beauty, nail, lash and brow businesses, spas and massage, tanning, tattoo and piercing studios and med spas in the United States.
The short version
- Look after the client first.Stop the service, get medical help if needed. Blocked blood vessel or severe allergic reaction after an injectable? Call 911 and the medical director now.
- Keep every record from the appointment.Intake and consent form, patch test or exam record, product and lot number, photos and staff statements.
- Report to your insurer before you reply.Tell them about the injury first. Never admit fault or offer payment without the insurer's consent.
Sooner or later a client is burned by a chemical or a laser, reacts to a product, or has a complication after an injectable. The first hours matter more than anything you say later. Treat the client, keep every record, and let your insurer handle the claim.
- Look after the client first.Stop the service and get medical help if needed. For vascular occlusion or anaphylaxis after an injectable, call 911 and the medical director now and follow your written complications protocol: hyaluronidase on site for vascular occlusion, epinephrine for anaphylaxis. Report serious events through FDA MedWatch.
- Preserve the records.Keep the intake and consent form, the patch test or good-faith exam record, the product and lot number, photos and staff statements. A signed consent form rarely waives negligence, so the full record is what helps.
- Report to your insurer before you reply.Report a client injury before you respond to the client, and never admit fault or offer payment without the insurer's consent.
- If it is your own product.If the product is your private label, you are the responsible person, and a serious adverse event goes to FDA within 15 business days.
- If a staff member is hurt.After a needlestick, arrange a post-exposure evaluation now; then write or update your exposure control plan, train staff and offer hepatitis B vaccination (29 C.F.R. 1910.1030).
Bad results and injuries are negligence and contract claims under state law; there is no federal service warranty. State consumer protection acts add deceptive-practice claims for misleading promises (California Bus. and Prof. Code 17200; Texas DTPA; New York GBL 349; Florida FDUTPA), so be careful what you promise a service will do.
How long a client has to sue for an injury
Personal injury limitation periods: California 2 years, Texas 2 years, New York 3 years, and Florida 2 years for negligence from March 24, 2023. A contract claim, such as a refund for a promised result that was not delivered, can run longer: 6 years in New York. So the deadline depends on the claim. A client can sue near the end of the period, so notify the insurer the moment a claim arrives, however late. As of Oct 2026.
California Code Civ. Proc. 335.1; Texas Civ. Prac. and Rem. Code 16.003; New York CPLR 214(5) and 213(2); Fla. Stat. 95.11
Policies list covered services and the license each needs. An unlisted service, an unlicensed provider or a minor treated against state law is usually excluded, so the claim is yours.
Med spa cover is separate. The medical director and each injector (physician, NP, PA, RN) need medical malpractice cover with the entity named, and the policy must cover delegated procedures, IV therapy and weight-loss drugs if you offer them. Lasers often need a specific endorsement.
Asked in Greymill
Today, in this order:
1. Her health: check she is getting the medical help she needs.
2. The records: keep the intake and consent form, any patch test record, the product and lot number, photos and staff statements.
3. Your insurer: report the injury now, then reply.
Never admit fault or offer payment without your insurer's consent. Your reply can still be kind.
Worth knowing: in New York, a client has 3 years to bring a personal injury claim (As of Oct 2026), and can sue near the end.
So tell the insurer the moment a claim arrives, however late.
Ready when you are: I'll draft the insurer report and a warm first reply that admits nothing.
Ask it about your own business
Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Contracts & Disputes works it through for your business.
I run a salon or beauty business in [state], in the US. A client [what happened, the service, the date and the injury]. I have [intake and consent form, patch test or exam record, product and lot number, photos, staff statements]. She is asking for [a refund, a redo, compensation]. Give me the steps for today in order, draft my report to the insurer and a holding reply to the client that admits nothing, and tell me the limitation period in my state.
More for beauty, hair and aesthetics in the US
- Pricing a color service so it still pays after commission and productPrice each service from the provider's time and product, check what commission leaves you, and track service sales per available hour before you change the menu.Read the lesson
- We sold a stack of gift cards in December. Why is cash tight now?Gift card and deposit money is service you still owe, no-shows are hours you never get back, and a 13-week cash view shows both before they hurt.Read the lesson
- Am I claiming the FICA tip credit, and do I owe tax on back-bar color?Salons can now claim the FICA tip credit on employees' tips, while back-bar product and New York City's service tax catch out owners who never checked.Read the lesson
- Adding laser, microneedling, injectables or tattoos: whose license covers it?Every state licenses the person and the shop separately, scope of practice decides what an esthetician may do, and injectables, and in most states lasers that affect living tissue, are the practice of medicine.Read the lesson
- Memberships, auto-renewals and no-show fees: will my terms hold up?Memberships, deposits and no-show fees are lawful when the client agrees to clear terms up front, and auto-renewal laws spell out how sign-up and cancellation must work.Read the lesson
- Commission stylists, '1099' stylists and booth renters: am I underpaying or misclassifying?A booth renter must really run their own business, and every commission employee needs a minimum wage and overtime check each workweek.Read the lesson
- Getting more five-star reviews and Instagram bookings without breaking FTC rulesRebooking, reviews, portfolios and texts bring in salon clients, and each comes with federal rules on incentives, endorsements, photos and consent.Read the lesson
Open the interactive lesson · Every beauty, hair and aesthetics lesson · What Greymill knows about the trade
Sources
The primary sources behind this lesson, checked Oct 2026.
- CCP 335.1; CPRC 16.003; CPLR 214; Fla. Stat. 95.11 (Client complaints, deposits and memberships)
- California Business and Professions Code s. 17602(a)(4), (a)(6), (d), (f), (h) and (j) (Client complaints, deposits and memberships)
- 91 FR 6507, section I.A, vacatur and restoration of the prior rule (Client complaints, deposits and memberships)
- Enrolled HB 3749, Occupations Code sections 172.001 and 172.051, and section 4 (Med spas: delegation, IV therapy and compounded drugs)
- FDA updates of December 19, 2024; February 21, March 10 and April 28, 2025 (Med spas: delegation, IV therapy and compounded drugs)
- FD&C Act 503A and 503B (Med spas: delegation, IV therapy and compounded drugs)
- 29 C.F.R. 1910.1200 (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- OSHA Nail Salons: Chemical Hazards, gloves and MMA entries (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- 29 C.F.R. 1910.1030(f) (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- 29 C.F.R. 1910.1048(c) and (b) (Health and safety: OSHA and sanitation)
- 21 U.S.C. 364h(a) and (b) (Product rules: MoCRA and state laws)
- FD&C Act 605 (21 U.S.C. 364a), serious adverse event reports within 15 business days; 608 (21 U.S.C. 364d), safety substantiation (Product rules: MoCRA and state laws)
- Health and Safety Code 108980 and 108981.5 (Product rules: MoCRA and state laws)
- 16 C.F.R. 435 (Retail and private label)