Salon incident triggers lawsuit

COEUR d'ALENE - A Kootenai County woman who visited a Hayden salon is suing the business and a cosmetologist there who she said negligently rinsed hair-coloring chemicals into one of her eyes.

Wanetta Peterson, through her attorney Henry Madsen of Coeur d'Alene, filed the lawsuit in 1st District Court last week against Bling Salon and Julie Brodin.

On July 21, 2011, Peterson went to Bling, located at 277 W. Prairie Ave., for an appointment with Brodin to have her hair colored.

Peterson was leaning back in a chair and having bleach and dye rinsed from her head into a sink when the chemicals began streaming into her right eye, the lawsuit said.

Peterson went to a bathroom to wash her eye out, but the burning sensation from the chemicals didn't subside.

Brodin placed some eye drops into Peterson's eye, but the "burning sensation became unbearable and required (Peterson) to seek medical treatment," the lawsuit said.

Peterson has been diagnosed with "photophobia and dry eye syndrome, requiring expensive medical treatment."

The lawsuit said Bling should have prepared employees to deal with such an incident and provided an eye-rinsing station and a first-aid kit.

Brodin, the lawsuit said, should have prevented the chemicals from getting into Peterson's eye.

"Based on the defendants' negligence, (Peterson) will have to undergo expensive and lifelong treatment to reduce the pain and effects of her syndromes, which were proximately caused by the defendants' actions," it said.

Peterson is seeking damages in an amount to be determined at trial. The lawsuit said she has suffered economic loss from medical expenses and loss of employment.

Representatives from Bling Salon didn't return a call requesting comment on Monday.