Can You Sue a Tattoo Artist or Tattoo Parlor?

A trip to the tattoo parlor is part of many people’s expression of individualism; a show of artwork as well as a way to decorate themselves in a way that is uniquely their style. But for some, that visit isn’t such a liberating and fun experience.  For many, a trip to the tattoo parlor or artist, ends up in injury.

Infection and Sterilization

We don’t think of getting tattooed as a medical procedure, but it does involve putting a needle under your skin. That carries with it the risk of infection. Many of the tools used in a tattoo parlor are not properly sterilized, which can lead to serious infection.

Lack of sterilization can also lead to cross contamination; a tattoo needle is a needle like any other. The failure to properly clean it can expose you to blood borne viruses like Hepatitis or HIV.

Allergic Reactions

We also don’t often think about allergies, but you can be allergic to the ink or other materials that are being put under your skin. Unlike food or medicine, which we’ve probably been exposed to previously, and know whether or not we’re allergic, we often have no idea if we’re allergic to the ink in tattoos, until it’s too late.

Licensure Requirements

Remember that in many states, including Massachusetts, tattoo artists must be licensed. Artists will undergo training in blood borne pathogens, and in proper sterilization techniques. But artists are not doctors, and they may not recognize, for example, early stages of a severe allergic reaction.

That’s the tattoo artist. The actual facilities or businesses that did the tattoo, don’t have to be licensed in Massachusetts (Massachusetts is one of only eight other states that doesn’t require such licensure).

Many artists and facilities are insured, and can be sued for negligence that causes infection or transmission of diseases, or even, in some cases, scarring, or disfigurement, where the scarring is not what would ordinarily be expected from a tattoo.

Subjectively Bad Tattoos

Situations where there is liability for a tattoo that is simply “not done correctly,” or which isn’t to the customer’s liking, or where a tattoo fades, or stretches, or doesn’t maintain its original form, are more difficult.

These cases sound more like breach of contract cases, than injury cases. Whether the artist is liable for damages, will largely depend on whether the tattoo you received was so materially different from the art or design that was promised to you or which was advertised, that it warrants a complete breach of contract.

But even then, with no injury beyond the “bad tattoo,” the measure of damages may only be what it costs to have the tattoo fixed, replaced, altered or removed.

Waivers

Some tattoo artists will have clients sign waivers of liability. Those may not be effective depending on their language, but an injury attorney can review your waiver, and tell you how it might affect your case, if at all.

Call the Boston personal injury lawyers at The Law Office of Joseph Linnehan, Jr. today at 617-275-4200 for help if you were injured by a tattoo artist, or in a tattoo parlor or facility.

Source:

enjuris.com/blog/questions/tattoo-artist-lawsuits/#:~:text=Yes%2C%20there%20are%20certain%20circumstances,or%20applying%20the%20tattoo%20incorrectly.