Woman settles case alleging burns from laser hair removal that left her looking ‘like a leopard’

A woman who claims she suffered multiple burns during laser leg hair removal has settled her High Court action.

The settlement was announced in the High Court as the case was due to resume and the woman was expected to be cross-examined.

Naomi Kumar (29) had already told the court how when the therapist was finished with the laser leg hair removal treatment at the Therapie Clinic, Molesworth Street, Dublin, she told Ms Kumar she looked like a leopard.

Ms Kumar said that after the treatment eight years ago, the burns blistered and turned to scabs over a period of weeks and “after that I really did look like a leopard”.

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Mr Justice Paul Coffey was told liability was conceded in the case, but causation of the woman’s injuries remained a major issue.

When the settlement was announced on Thursday, Mr Justice Coffey was told the settlement was based on an apportioning of two-thirds against Ms Kumar on the issue of causation and one-third against the defendants, who are the owners and operators of the Therapie Clinic.

The judge, noting the terms, congratulated the sides on reaching a settlement and he wished Ms Kumar well for the future.

Ms Kumar (29), of Clonkeen Grove, Deansgrange, Glenageary, Co Dublin, has sued the owners and operators of the Therapie Clinic, Molesworth Street, Dublin. The defendants are Lintrath Holdings Ltd, Philkat Ltd; Valterous Ltd and Body Clinics Ireland Ltd, all of with offices at Joyce House, Holles Street, Dublin, and Philip McGlade, Blackrock, Dublin.

It was claimed that Ms Kumar was caused to suffer multiple burns to her legs in the course of the laser hair removal treatment and there was a failure to stop the treatment when it was apparent Ms Kumar was in significant pain and suffering from burn-type injuries.

In evidence, Ms Kumar said she had booked sessions of laser removal for €1,100 with removal from the upper lip, underarms, legs and bikini line.

On her seventh session in October 2015, she said the therapist started the treatment of the right shin.

“Immediately there was a pain like I had never felt before. My right shin immediately came up in red-purple marks. I asked the therapist to stop and take a look at my shin,” she said.

The therapist said it was fine and “that happens to everyone”, she told the judge.

She said she asked the therapist to stop again and to look at her leg again as she said it was “incredibly painful”.

“She said I was fine and maybe I had a low pain threshold,” Ms Kumar said, adding she asked the therapist to stop a third time, and again she was told she was fine. The laser removal continued on her right leg and the therapist then started on the left leg.

“The same thing happened. I came up with red marks and it was incredibly painful. I was sweating, I was wincing with every shot. It was just excruciating, " she said.

She said when the therapist finished the treatment, she took off her goggles and said “I looked like a leopard”. Ms Kumar said when she looked at her legs, she remembered gasping. She said she tried to pull on her jeans and it was awful.

Afterward, she said, she paid and the therapist who “cheerily said goodbye and asked if I would like to book in again”.

Ms Kumar said she had a French exam, but she threw up a couple of times on the way to college and the exam had to be deferred.

She said it was the most aggressive pain she had ever felt and three months later she was still in intense pain, could not dress and spent her time at home in her underwear.

She said in 2018, three years after, the pain was severe from her hip to her ankle.