Pedicure 'causes' death

2006-05-19 14:19

Fort Worth - Kimberly Kay Jackson loved getting pedicures each month, especially with bright pink nail polish, although as a paraplegic she couldn't feel the massages and bubbling water on her feet.

But after her heel was cut with a pumice stone during a July pedicure, she developed an oozing wound that wouldn't heal despite repeated rounds of antibiotics, relatives said. The 46-year-old died in February of a heart attack triggered by a staph infection, said the family's attorney, Steven C Laird.

Now, her three teenage children are suing Angel Nails and its owner for unspecified damages. The lawsuit, filed last week, claims the Fort Worth salon did not follow state regulations for disinfecting the whirlpool and instruments.

"This stupid pedicure killed her," David Lee Jackson, her ex-husband, said through tears. The couple reconciled in 2001, about five years after their divorce. "She was afraid she was going to lose her foot. ... Who would've thought this would take her life?"

Salon owner Dinh Cong Tran declined comment.

Angel Nails 'being investigated'

Angel Nails is being investigated by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, which started overseeing nail salons in September after the Texas Cosmetology Commission dissolved, said department spokesman Patrick Schaughnessy.

Besides the Jackson case, there have been no other allegations the past eight months that a customer died from an infection contracted at a nail salon, Schaughnessy said.

The Chicago-based National Cosmetology Association has not received reports of any deaths stemming from salon visits, said spokesperson Vi Nelson, adding that sanitary problems are reported in a small percentage of the 250 000 licensed salons nationwide.

Texas has nearly 26 400 licensed salons that offer nail-care services. Since September, the licensing department has received 883 complaints against such salons or owners and is investigating 719. Of those, 81 salons have been penalized with fines or orders to improve sanitation practices, Schaughnessy said.

- SAPA