Kelly Teggin wins battle for justice after hair loss claim

Turning down the possibility to settle by means of her insurance coverage, Mrs Teggin put her enterprise on the road in a two-day county court docket trial, which might have landed her with a invoice of greater than £100,000, together with prices.

Mrs Teggin, who owns Kelly Teggin Hair and Magnificence in Knaresborough, mentioned: “I used to be optimistic I had achieved nothing mistaken and needed to clear my title.

“I used to be placing my status on the road and risked shedding my enterprise if all of it went mistaken however I used to be by no means going to settle as a result of the story merely didn’t stack up – and I knew I had the proof to show it.”

The claimant argued that her hair began falling out on vacation, a couple of days after Mrs Teggin bleached the roots, persevering with to fall out till she solely had half her hair left, with it being diminished to stubble in some locations.

Though the claimant supplied no photographic proof of the hair loss, Mrs Teggin found pictures on Fb of the claimant throughout a vacation, which she mentioned confirmed no hair injury.

Mrs Teggin’s detective work additionally turned up articles on the web, the mainstream press and hair trade magazines written by the claimant’s knowledgeable witness which she claimed contradicted info given in court docket to again the shopper’s claims that the alleged injury couldn’t have been brought on by publicity to daylight and heated tongs.

The choose, Recorder Murray, who identified that the claimant had modified her proof, mentioned there was solely proof of “minor breakage”, which didn’t display there had been negligence.

Dismissing the declare, he additionally identified that UV gentle, warmth and mechanical processes might injury bleached hair.

Mrs Teggin’s solicitor, Sarah Pether, mentioned the case might have been settled on the outset for round £6,000 in damages, however Kelly mentioned this might have affected her salon’s status because it was an incorrect declare.

The Leeds County Court docket choose’s ruling in favour of Mrs Teggin has been hailed as a “breakthrough” for hairdressers struggling to disprove baseless claims, which value insurance coverage firms thousands and thousands of kilos yearly.

Skilled witness, forensic trichologist, Professor Barry Stevens, mentioned hairdressers can unfairly develop into victims in doubtful claims and welcomed the very fact Mrs Teggin was exonerated on this case.

“It can hopefully result in a more in-depth overview of claims throughout the trade,” he added.