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Woman wins $140K in manicure suit

ST. LOUIS, May 3 (UPI) -- A Kansas City woman reached a $140,000 out-of-court settlement in a negligence suit against a nail salon because her finger became so infected she was forced to have the tip amputated, Missouri Lawyers Weekly reports.

In its Monday edition, the legal newspaper said though Missouri law requires the Board of Cosmetology to make inspection reports on such establishments, those reports and complaints about the establishments are not available to the public.

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"The case highlights a disturbing problem -- the reports are ostensibly being prepared for the health and safety of the public, but the public cannot get the information," attorney Ken Jones, editor of Missouri Lawyers Weekly, said. "A consumer can't call the Board of Cosmetology and find out if the salon they use has ever been cited for unsanitary conditions."

The lawsuit was filed by Rebecca Burgess, 47, who claimed she got the infection while old acrylic nails were being ground off with an electric grinder. The infection was then encased into her finger by the hard new acrylic nail that was applied.

Her finger swelled and throbbed for several weeks before she went to the hospital, where it was discovered that the infection destroyed some of the bone. Her fingertip eventually was amputated.

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The newspaper said the out-of-court settlement apparently is the first against a salon.

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