Personal Injury Lawyer

As they become more commonplace in society, legal disputes involving tattoos are becoming equally as prevalent. As an experienced personal injury lawyer from Eric Roy Law Firm can explain, aside from general dissatisfaction with the artistry of the tattoo, there are also disputes regarding injury from the tattooing process.

Tattoo parlors do have waivers that relieve them of liability should something occur during or after the tattoo process, but only up to an extent. When the waiver is signed, it’s expected that the tattoo artist will conform to the standard for authorized tattoo artists in America in terms of sanitation and general conduct.

Lawsuits for infection: One of the most common lawsuits for tattoo parlors is for a type of infection of the skin that is believed to be a result of the tattoo process. There are many means by which this can foreseeably occur from improperly sterilized equipment or breaking the skin in such an unreasonable way that you are exposed to an infection later that you wouldn’t have otherwise been vulnerable to normally.

Lawsuits regarding conduct: One can make a claim for injuries regarding an uncleanliness of space like that of a slip and fall case and one could make a claim regarding the artist’s lack of precision. Say for instance, the artist’s skill being so lax that they cause a large cut or laceration that otherwise prevents them from working. These two can have the possibility of falling under gross negligence which don’t have the protection of waivers. But reasoning for a lawsuit doesn’t entirely need to be physical, you can have a valid claim for conduct related offenses for something as simple as not asking you about your allergy history or other medical issues especially those that are skin related. They can fail to give you proper after-care advice on what to do in the hours and days after you get your tattoo or not say anything at all. Much like a doctor, tattoo artists are expected to obtain perquisite information to be able to properly handle their client. They’re also required to give proper education and to inform their client on all the risks of their procedures and on how to reduce future risks as a result of the procedures they perform

Defenses: A waiver absolving the tattooist of liability is the basic defense, but it’s possible for the client to contribute to the negligence as well. If one moves too much thus causing the tattoo artist to lose precision and cause a laceration, they wouldn’t be liable. Also if the client is expressly aware of the artist using an unorthodox method that has a greater risk of injury to create the tattoo, that relieves the artist of liability as well.