Do you use disclaimers as a substitute for patch tests or other elements of a consultation? You could be putting yourself at risk of an expensive claim, explains Christina Ryan

In the beauty industry, a disclaimer is often used by a therapist to avoid or limit their liability if something goes wrong during a treatment. A disclaimer form can also been called a waiver form.

A therapist may obtain a completed disclaimer from their client with the intention that their client cannot pursue a claim against them if there is an injury as a result of the treatment.

The definition of a disclaimer is, “any statement intended to specify or delimit the scope of rights and obligations that may be exercised and enforced by parties in a legally recognised relationship. In contrast to other terms for legally operative language, the term disclaimer usually implies situations that involve some level of uncertainty, waiver or risk”.

A disclaimer is not worth the piece of paper it is written on and should not be used as a way to cut corners or try and reduce therapist liability

In particular, many therapists use a disclaimer instead of carrying out a patch test prior to treatment. In some situations it may be difficult to arrange a patch test if a client calls into a salon hoping to have a treatment there and then, or if you work on a mobile basis it may be difficult to travel to a client 24 hours before the treatment to carry out the patch test. But the problem is that in reality a disclaimer does not protect the therapist from having a claim made against them. A client still has the right to pursue a claim even if they have signed a disclaimer.

In a court of law, a judge would deem the therapist to be the professional as they are acting within their profession and have had the necessary training to do so. This training means the therapist should be leading their client as to how the treatment is correctly performed.

If a therapist has been trained to carry out a patch test, it would be deemed that they are acting unprofessionally if they advise their client to sign a disclaimer instead. It is a therapist’s duty to carry out a patch test in accordance with their training and the manufacturer’s guidelines.

In this situation, should a claim be taken to court then the judge would rule in favour of the client and not the therapist as the therapist should have known better and followed their training.

This is also very important with regards to adhering to the conditions in your insurance policy. For example, if a client signed a disclaimer to confirm that although they had eczema they were happy for a treatment to be performed, then had an adverse reaction to the treatment, the therapist could be in trouble. If that client pursued a claim, the therapist would be found in breach of their insurance policy condition because they had not carried out the treatment in accordance with their training, so the insurer would not meet the claim. This would leave any settlement amounts down to the therapist to pay themselves. In summary, a disclaimer is not worth the piece of paper it is written on and should not be used as a way to cut corners or try and reduce therapist liability.

PB

Christina Ryan is senior account handler for Professional Beauty Direct Insurance, which offers annual cover from £52.50 per year for therapists and £124 for salons. Contact the team on: 0345 605 8670 info@professionalbeautydirect.co.ukprofessionalbeauty.co.uk/insurance