If I got a tattoo 2 years ago from a licensed shop but it was improperly done, since I want it removed, should the shop be responsible for the laser removal fee?
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If I got a tattoo 2 years ago from a licensed shop but it was improperly done, since I want it removed, should the shop be responsible for the laser removal fee?
During the healing of the tattoo the ink raised up above the skin surface due to the artist going too deep with the needle causing scaring. Extremely visible, the tattoo was logged on the business site. I now want the tattoo removed because of the quality and feel the shop should pay for the removal fee. Do I have a case? Would this be a small claims court?
Asked on April 20, 2015 under Personal Injury, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
You are actually stating two different, but related, possible causes of action:
1) If the issue is scarring or other injury/damage caused by carelessness, that is personal injury and you're still within the time to sue (4 years in your state).
2) If the issue is that you think that the qualify of the work is sub-par, that is more likely a professional negligence claim, but if so, it may be too late to bring it: the time to sue, or statue of limitations, is only 2 years for that claim.
You may have to go with a personal injury claim, which means the quality of the work is irrelevant: the claim has to be based on physical injury or damage. If that's bad enough, you can bring the claim, but may need a medical expert to testify about the injury, and/or another tatoo artist to testify about normal/acceptable levels of scarring. That is, since you would need more than just your own testimony, this case may be more complicated and expensive to bring (you typically have to pay for experts to testify) than its worth.
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