Woman Sues After Falling Asleep in Tanning Bed
A Portland, Oregon woman is suing after falling asleep in a tanning bed for two and a half hours. This comes just weeks after California banned the use of tanning beds for most minors. We all know that even just a single session in a tanning bed can cause irreversible damage. This is why more and more women are using sunless tanning lotions to bronze their skin safely.
Lawyers for the woman are claiming that she, “‘sustained first and second degree burn [sic] to her entire body, permanent scarring and discoloration of her skin, the emergence of moles and small growths on her skin, and will in the future face an increased risk of skin cancer.’ The suit says she has ultraviolet eye damage, including permanent blurred vision as well as dizziness, headaches and nausea.”
What do you think of this lawsuit? Should the tanning salon have to pay for damages? Or is there enough knowledge about the dangers of tanning beds that the woman should take responsibility as well?
Source : Willamette Week
Images : WeHeartIt
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The kneejerk reaction is, of course, how dare she sue! She should know the risks! But… I’ve used tanning beds on and off for the past six years and have never had the experience of a bed remaining on and lit past the allotted time. There are various timers associated with a tanning bed and thinking back… every bed I’ve ever been in has automatically shut off after the specified time. If the bed did not shut off and the attendant on site wasn’t able to wake her at any point during the ~2 hours past her tanning time, I think she does deserve some reimbursement. But it’s sketchy to me that 1. the bed didn’t shut off on it’s own and 2. the attendant couldn’t wake her up (through the door to the “room” or with a key that would have let them into the room).
Those are very good points. I’ve personally never used a tanning bed, so I don’t know the details of how they work. I do know that most beds are on a timer, so it seems weird it didn’t turn off on its own. I could see the attendents not being aware depending on a couple of factors – if the salon was very busy that day or if there was a shift change while she was in a room.
What I also find interesting is that the tanning salon wasn’t aware of the lawsuit until Willamette Week called them to ask about it.
It’s weird how the tanning bed didn’t have a timer… was it malfunctioned or the place didn’t invest in safer beds? I think she may have a point in suing…