A mother-of-two has launched a landmark £1million court case against a beauty salon over claims a £200 dying treatment that involved her hair being washed six times caused a massive stroke.
Adele Burns, 47, was left unable to see or move 24 hours after a nightmare visit to the Rainbow Rooms in Glasgow where stylists struggled to get her colour and cut right.
Mrs Burns, who was there for a treat paid for by her husband Campbell, 52, suffered a massive stroke she claims was caused by her head being repeatedly pulled backwards into the unpadded salon basin for shampoo and conditioning.
Her doctors claim the sink injured her neck, caused a clot and then stopped blood flowing to her brain – known as beauty parlour stroke syndrome.
She said: ‘My life has been turned upside-down from what was meant to be a rare day out. With backing from my doctors, there is no doubt in my mind the salon caused the stroke’.
Adele Burns, 47, visited the Rainbow Rooms beauty salon in Glasgow as a £200 treat paid for by her husband Campbell (pictured together) but claims she had her hair washed so many times it caused a stroke
Mrs Burns blames the Rainbow Rooms in Glasgow (pictured) for giving causing an injury doctors call beauty parlour stroke syndrome
Adele hopes her court action – believed to be the first of its kind in Scotland – will improve standards in Britain’s hairdressing salons.
She said: ‘This hasn’t just left me isolated from society – I’ve been isolated from my own body.’
Mrs Burns, 47, was left unable to see or move 24 hours after the nightmare hair treatment that took five hours
Mother-of-two Adele visited the award winning salon for a £200 cut-and-colour on 21 April 2016 as part of a special day out arranged by husband Campbell, 52.
After the five-hour appointment she left with a headache but put it down to not getting a chance to eat while at the salon.
The following day Adele’s condition drastically deteriorated when she lost her sight and felt dizzy out while cleaning the bathroom.
She rested for a minute where after gathering her strength crawled to the phone and called Campbell for help.
But after a few moments she dropped the phone mid-conversation and passed out again.
Terrified Campbell rushed home and found his wife unable to speak or move and the right side of her face was drooping – he immediately called for an ambulance.
Adele suffered a stroke at St John’s Hospital in Livingston following dissection of the vertebral artery – a clot caused by trauma in the neck which stops blood getting to the brain.
The incident left Adele unable to drive which meant she couldn’t work and had to sell their home – she also now struggles to speak, read, write and move yet never stops fighting to rebuild her life.
Mrs Burns said: ‘A stroke isn’t like a physical injury like a leg break where you take time out and heal then carry on as normal – it changes your life and the lives of those around you.
‘I’ve completely lost my independence and I sometimes feel like my life is no longer my own.
‘Campbell is my best friend and the right words don’t exist to express my love and gratitude for everything he does for me nowadays.
‘What makes it harder to stomach is that what our lives have become was avoidable and I’m sure the salon know this too.
‘I just don’t want anyone else to experience what is happening to us.’
The salon claims Adele failed attend for a ‘strand test’ before her appointment, which would have prevented the need for her hair to be re-washed and re-coloured six times
Husband Campbell, who works as an IT manager, said: ‘My wife was an active and vibrant person but the hardest thing for me isn’t taking on domestic duties – it’s seeing her fight to keep the sparkle in her smile and eyes.
‘I see myself as a problem solver who does what is needed to help us clear obstacles but it breaks my heart when I think this is one problem I’ll never be able to solve for my wife.
‘The salon should be ashamed not just for what they did, but what they are doing now by dragging a vulnerable person through a stressful and avoidable legal action.’
Court papers state salon staff never asked Adele to attend for a ‘strand test’ before her appointment which would have prevented the need for her hair to be re-washed and re-coloured six times.
Documents also accuse the salon of negligence by failing to offer Adele a front-facing sink or provide neck protection during the treatment she received.
And medic reports show there is no history of strokes in Adele’s family history along with a CT scan which confirmed the stroke she suffered following the trip to the Glasgow parlour.
Jennifer Watson, Associate at Digby Brown Solicitors and specialist beauty treatment lawyer, said: ‘A civil action against Rainbow Rooms is underway after our client’s life was undeniably altered following her appointment with their salon.
‘Thousands of people will seek beauty treatment like this every year and Adele is incredibly brave in speaking out as a way of alerting others to the risks.
‘Strokes caused by hair washes are not unheard of as there have been a handful of similar cases across the globe – however I’m not aware of anything similar having called in Scottish courts.
‘This claim of negligence will be rigorously pursued but as it is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further.’
Rainbow Room International declined to comment.