A top City banker whose forehead was burnt during a visit to a salon has won more than £2,000 in damages after she complained of 'being stared at by colleagues at work.'
Sarina Saul-Hassam, a senior financier at HSBC, suffered the burn when her stylist accidentally touched her with a dryer during a regular appointment at Blow Dry Express in Canary Wharf, London in December 2017.
At London County Court last week, she claimed the incident caused a 'very noticeable' burn mark, leaving her feeling self-conscious at work after colleagues asked: 'What on earth has happened to your face?'
So embarrassed was she by the incident, that she felt compelled to cancel a Christmas holiday in the sun and would stay away from Christmas social events and the gym.
Sarina Saul-Hassam (pictured), a senior financier at HSBC, said that colleagues would ask her 'what on earth has happened to your face' after she suffered the burn
The company behind the salon, BDE Enterprises Can Ltd, denied liability for the accident, flatly denying that she was burned by her hairdresser.
It also accused Mrs Saul-Hassam of suffering 'some sort of excessive concern about her appearance', given that the burn has since disappeared.
But now a judge has ordered the company behind the Blow Dry Express salon to pay up almost £10,000 in damages and court costs after ruling that the stylist was negligent.
The banker told District Judge Worthington during the trial of the case that she felt pain as the drier touched her head, but did not realise how bad the burn was until she took off her makeup that night.
Giving evidence, Mrs Saul-Hassam - a 'senior banker' at HSBC in the City - said she had used the same salon numerous times, sometimes
