PITTSBURGH – A Western Pennsylvania man alleges he suffered severe burns on the tops of his feet, after a session in an infrared sauna therapy booth in a Pittsburgh business.
Alphonso Muhammad of Munhall filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Oct. 11 versus Full Body Balance of Pittsburgh, plus Jessica Roberts and Neil Nichols of Weirton, W.V.
According to the litigation, defendants Roberts and Nichols maintained a “Negative Ion” store in the Robinson Mall in Pittsburgh.
“Full Body is a wellness store that works with negative ion treatment and other services, including a Himalayan salt cave and infrared sauna therapy booths. The infrared sauna is a small booth-like object that the patron sits in as it heats up. The booth has a heating element at the base that increases the temperature in the booth to elicit enough heat to cause the patron to sweat,” the suit says.
“On Nov. 29, 2019, Muhammad paid to use one of the aforementioned booths at Full Body. Muhammad’s shoes were on while using the booth, but he still experienced extreme heat on the tops of his feet that resulted in burns. Muhammad only sat in the booth for the recommended amount of time, which is 30 minutes. Full Body failed to inspect the booth to ensure that it was functioning properly. Full Body did not properly warn Muhammad or other patrons of the dangers of using the booth.”
Muhammad added that after using the booth, he went home and noticed that he was experiencing pain on the tops of his feet. At home, he took off his shoes and discovered that his feet had burn blisters on the tops.
“Muhammad made an appointment with his primary care physician at South Hills Family Medicine on Dec. 12, 2019. A doctor at Hills Family Medicine prescribed Muhammad both Keflex and Silvadene for 10 days, which he was to apply daily on his burns. Muhammad’s feet continued to blister and did not improve with the use of the prescribed medication. Muhammad’s primary care physician instructed him to attend wound care for his injuries,” per the suit.
“On Dec. 16, 2019, Muhammad obtained wound care at Jefferson Wound Care Center. At Jefferson Wound Care Center, Muhammad’s wounds were dressed in santyl adaptic 4x4’s and covered in gauze. Muhammad required dressing changes and increased medication to cope with the pain associated with the burns he received from using the booth at Full Body. Currently, Mr. Mohammad continues to suffer from the effects of the incident.”
The suit accuses the defendants of failing to maintain temperatures in the booth to be safe for invitees use, allowing the infrared heater to get too hot for use by patron/invitees and failing to monitor the infrared sauna booth units following their maintenance to ensure that they were functioning correctly.
For a lone count of negligence, the plaintiff is seeking compensatory and consequential damages from the defendants in an amount in excess of the jurisdictional arbitration limits, together with interest, costs of suit and any other relief this Honorable Court deems appropriate to recover for which this suit is filed, in addition to a trial by jury.
The plaintiff is represented by Mark D. Troyan of Robert Peirce & Associates, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-21-012464
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com