Madhu Kumar lost her right leg.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: An Indian American woman in Oregon has filed a lawsuit against a nail salon business, whom she blames for amputation of her right leg.
Madhu Kumar claims a pedicure at a North Portland nail salon led to an infection and then to the amputation of one of her toes and eventually her right leg. She has filed a $280,000 lawsuit against the salon’s owners, reported The Oregonian.
Kumar got a pedicure at Nails Trap at 1854 N. Lombard St. on October 29, 2012, according to her lawsuit filed last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
“When the pedicurist was attempting to use a sharp instrument to shave calluses off both of her feet the pedicurist negligently lacerated the media distal tip of (Kumar’s) right hallux,” states the suit. The hallux is the big toe.
The suit, according to the Oregonian, claims Kumar suffered “profuse bleeding, gangrene to her toe, amputation of her toe, and amputation of her right leg.”
Kumar seeks $30,000 in medical expenses and $250,000 for pain and suffering.
The salon couldn’t be reached for comment. The suit lists owners Hoa X. Nguyen and Sac Thi Trinh as defendants, as well as a pedicurist “Nancy,” whose last name isn’t known by Kumar.
Although Kumar’s suit doesn’t state if she had an existing medical condition, health experts say those at greatest risk of contracting serious infections from nail salons often have problems such as diabetes, poor circulation or numb feet.
“People with neuropathy may not feel the pain of the infection, leaving them unaware of the problem until it’s too late,” wrote Dr. Neil Scheffler, a Maryland podiatrist in a newsletter for the Amputee Coalition.
Gary Bertoni, Kumar’s attorney, declined comment, said the report.
The Daily Mail last month had done a report on how improper treatment at nail salons can be dangerous. The report cited examples of women who had been serviced at such places eventually suffered, including enduring months of pain, infections in the heel, and getting acrylic nails.