A 10 year old girl has suffered 70% burns at a tanning salon as a result of a sixteen minute session unsupervised. Kelly Thompson was taken to hospital within hours of leaving the tanning salon in South Wales and would have required skin grafts had she remained on the sun bed for another two minutes. She has been warned that she will need to stay out of direct sunlight for up to ten years.
These type of injuries are becoming increasingly common and it is important to remember that sun beds are not a safe alternative to sunbathing. The World Health Organisation have previously advised that under 18s should not use sun beds, as young people who get burnt as a result of exposure to UV rays have a greater risk of skin cancer as adults.
However, there is no UK regulation regarding the use of sun beds, although the UK’s Sunbed Association has a voluntary code which says no-one under 16 should be allowed to use a sun bed.
It seems abundantly clear that there needs to be clear guidelines on the use of sun beds. While it shouldn’t necessarily be a requirement that all tanning salons are supervised at all times there should definitely be clear guidelines on how to use the sun beds safely and also perhaps a sliding scale correlating the age of the user with the amount of time that they can use the beds for.
Sun bed use without providing safety guidelines could undoubtedly be perceived as negligence by the owners of the sun beds and may mean that there is an opportunity for individuals to make claim compensation for any injuries suffered as a result of the lack of supervision and instruction on how to use the products safely.
