Negligence and Tort- Ice pack use during tattoo removal causes frostbite

$250,000 settlement

Injuries alleged: First- and second-degree abdominal frostbite burns

Court: Arlington County Circuit Court

Name of judge: Judge Joanne F. Alpert (Ret.)

Date resolved: April 28, 2026

Special damages: Past medical bills of $14,488.94, past wage loss of $18,688.31 (disputed as partially unrelated or insufficiently substantiated) and future medical bills of $4,800 to $7,200 (disputed as not medically necessary)

Amount: $250,000

Attorney for plaintiff: Tara L. Umbrino, Woodbridge, Valor Injury Law

Case description: The plaintiff went to have a tattoo removed by laser. The plaintiff alleged that during the procedure, an ice pack was placed directly on her skin without any protective barrier and left on for about an hour resulting in first- and second-degree frostbite burns.

The plaintiff also alleged that as a result of the constant pain she had a mental health crisis
and presented to the emergency room in connection with suicidal ideations.

The plaintiff was left with areas of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation on her abdomen, which did not respond to microneedling. The plaintiff’s expert opined that an additional round of microneedling could improve the hyperpigmentation, and that the hyperpigmentation would likely improve over time but may never fully resolve.

The defendant and its experts alleged that the microneedling would not help and given other scars/marks on the plaintiff’s stomach, the hyperpigmentation was not significant.

Liability was not in dispute, but the quantum of the plaintiff’s future medical care, disfigurement/embarrassment and permanency of the injury was seriously in dispute.