State of Florida
Woman receives $ 1.7 million in damages for losing a leg after pedicure
Settlement in court: a Florida woman is compensated by a nail salon for the loss of her leg
© Christian Ohde / Picture Alliance
Even her own lawyer hadn’t expected that: after a woman from Florida suffered a cut in a nail salon and had her leg amputated as a result, she is now receiving millions in compensation.
A Florida woman whose leg had to be amputated after a pedicure mistake reached a $ 1.75 million settlement with the nail salon. An employee of Tammy’s Nails 2 in Tampa cut the now 55-year-old’s foot during a pedicure in September 2018, as reported by the Tampa Bay Times. The cut became infected and the infection spread quickly, in part because the woman had severe peripheral arterial disease, a circulatory disorder that causes narrowed vessels to reduce blood flow to the limbs. Finally, her leg had to be removed.
As a result, the woman lost her home because she had to pay the medical costs of the amputation, the newspaper quotes her lawyer Paul Fulmer. Since she cannot walk, the mother of a daughter of elementary school age needs support with self-sufficiency and is now living with relatives.
Comparison surprises even the lawyer
The settlement was concluded on December 16, reports the Tampa Bay Times, citing the court documents. In the documents, the amount of the compensation payment is not mentioned, but the Fulmer said the amount of 1.75 million dollars – that is the equivalent of almost 1.55 million euros – to the newspaper.
“She was stunned, shocked, cried and was over the moon, all at the same time,” said the lawyer, describing his client’s reaction to the newspaper. The infection meant years of hardship for her, which continued. She deserves the full amount of the settlement, but he was surprised that Tammy’s Nails 2 was okay with $ 1.75 million in view of the woman’s previous illness. “It could have been a very strong defense argument,” said Fulmer. “We would have been satisfied with at least half the amount we received.”
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According to the lawsuit filed in May 2020, the nail salon’s tools and equipment were so dirty that they posed a threat to customers, the newspaper reports. According to the allegations, the company did not follow its own guidelines, did not train its employees and did not maintain the equipment properly. Tammy’s Nails 2 had denied the allegations in his statement of defense, countering that the woman was to blame for the amputation because she did not seek immediate medical attention or “took reasonable steps to prevent the development of an infection”.
Source: “Tampa Bay Times”