A nine-year-old boy may be left with a permanent skin condition after getting his face painted at Legoland Florida.
The boy’s mother, Jessica Bermudez-Smith, said a week after her son had his face painted, he complained of itching and burning.
A rash soon developed on his cheeks and Bermudez-Smith took him to see their doctor in Jacksonville, where he was given medication.
But the rash didn’t go away and further spread around his nose and mouth, causing dark spots and discoloration.
Now, Bermudez-Smith is suing Legoland saying her son may be left permanently scarred from the seemingly harmless activity.
A nine-year-old boy may be left with permanent skin discoloration (right) after getting his face painted (left) at Legoland Florida in May 2016
Jessica Bermudez-Smith said her son, then age seven, began complaining of itching and burning a week later and a rash developed on his cheeks (Pictured, Legoland Florida)
Bermudez-Smith took her then-seven-year-old son to the theme park in May 2016, where he got his face painted to look like a superhero by an employee.
After the paint was removed, she saw irritation on the boy’s cheeks, but he didn’t complain of itching and burning until a week later.
After the rash wasn’t treated by the initial medication they received from the doctor, Bermudez-Smith took her son back.
During this visit, the doctor diagnosed him with eczema and gave him medication to treat it, according to court documents viewed by Daily Mail Online.
‘Several doctor visits later, and after 23 months of various treatments and prescriptions, [the boy’s] skin condition continues to worsen, and the doctors became baffled as to why the rash discoloration would not go away,’ the lawsuit states.
In March of this year, another doctor asked Bermudez-Smith if the boy had placed anything around his face around the time the rash started.
He said the rash was even on both sides and the discoloration formed a perfect outline around the outside of his mouth and under both cheeks.
It was then that she recalled that the Legoland trip and face painting had occurred just before the rash broke out, according to the lawsuit.
A 2010 study found that more than one-third of people had at least one allergic reaction to cosmetic ingredients.
The skin can suffer two types of reactions. The first is called irritant contact dermatitis, which occurs when the skin has been damaged. Your skin might itch, sting, burn and you might develop blisters.
The second is called allergic contact dermatitis, which is an allergic reaction to the material. Your skin can become red and raw and symptoms can include redness, swelling, itching, and hives.
Normally, such skin reactions do not last for two years like the boy’s has. Additionally, doctors have not been able to diagnose exactly what he is suffering from.
Junior Mentor, the family’s attorney told Daily Mail Online, that he is unsure if the paint itself or unsanitary conditions caused the rash, but doctors are pretty certain the boy’s skin had a negative reaction to the paint.
‘The family had no reason to believe the face paint would cause a rash,’ Mentor said.
‘He’d never had his face painted before and he had no skin condition previously so this is fairly new to them.’
The lawsuit, which was filed in Polk County Court in May, is seeking more than $15,000 in damages.
In March of this year, after learning about the face paint, doctors told his mother that they believe his skin had a negative reaction to the paint. The boy now has two dark discoloration spots under his cheeks (left and right) as well as around his mouth
In the suit, the family claims negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress, according to the document.
‘Kids have been teasing and taunting him at school calling him “mouse” and “raccoon”,’ said Mentor.
‘He has two large circles under each cheek that he’s tried to brush away but it looks like it will scar.’
Mentor says the family ‘is not litigious’ and are concerned about the well-being of their son.
‘We just want Legoland to show some corporate responsibility and pay for any medical expenses or cover any future surgeries to fix the discoloration.’
In a previously released statement, Legoland officials said: ‘We take all matters relating to the well-being of our guests seriously. We have not been contacted regarding this legal matter and therefore cannot comment at this time.’