Can a tattoo artist sue me for not paying a tattoo that he messed up?

[jammam91]

Hello,

Recently I went to my tattoo artist (who is not store based, he does it in his home), and before getting the tattoo I told him that I would pay him on my next paycheck time. He messed up one of the letters of my tattoo and I realized that next morning and told him about it. He apologized for the mistake and told me he would fix it (although I don't know how he would). Anyway, now he wants me to pay for the tattoo and I said I would because I think he's a good guy but all my friends and co-workers are telling me not to because he messed up the tattoo and that he can't sue me for not paying him because it's his own fault. At this point I would rather take the mistake in the tattoo rather than pay him for the tattoo that he messed up himself and would rather get it lasers later on somewhere else.

Thank you

 

[quincy]

What letter was messed up?

 

[jammam91]

What letter was messed up?

So it was supposed to be S.K.I.F, which stands for Shotokan Karate International Federation, but he inked R instead of the K.

 

[quincy]

So it was supposed to be S.K.I.F, which stands for Shotokan Karate International Federation, but he inked R instead of the K.

Thank you for answering my question.

That could be an easy (but painful) correction to make but, if you do not trust the original tattoo artist to make the correction, you can find another tattoo artist to do it and deduct the cost of correction from what you owe the original artist, this assuming you do not have any agreement with the original tattoo artist on what to do if there are inking errors.

 

[jammam91]

I did tell him that I would pay him and come back when the tattoo heals to get him to correct it. But after talking to my friends about it, I'd just rather not pay him at all and get it corrected somewhere else??? But do you think he could potentially sue me for that?
I live in Massachusetts if that helps.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

He could certainly sue you. His only problem in doing so is if he is unlicensed.

 

[quincy]

I did tell him that I would pay him and come back when the tattoo heals to get him to correct it. But after talking to my friends about it, I'd just rather not pay him at all and get it corrected somewhere else??? But do you think he could potentially sue me for that?
I live in Massachusetts if that helps.

Yes. He could sue. Whether he will or not could depend on several factors, including whether he is licensed and whether he is the litigious sort.

 

[HRZ]

BTW in MA it is likely that both the artist and the site need to be licensed .

 

[quincy]

In Massachusetts, there is no state regulation of tattoo artists but towns and cities in Massachusetts can regulate both tattoo artists and the facilities they use to practice their art.

 

[jammam91]

BTW in MA it is likely that both the artist and the site need to be licensed .

he works from home so I am not sure if he's licensed... I just really don't want to pay for a tattoo he f****d up. I want to just get it corrected later on, I don't have the time or will to wait then take care of the correction to heal...

 

[quincy]

he works from home so I am not sure if he's licensed... I just really don't want to pay for a tattoo he f****d up. I want to just get it corrected later on, I don't have the time or will to wait then take care of the correction to heal...

You should check to see if your town/city regulates tattoo artists.

 

[HRZ]

Pay attention to license issues ...as a matter of law it may be darn hard if not impossible to ever get paid if one is operating without required licenses that are required for health or safety reasons not just mere revenue reasons .

I believe there are state level licenses required for body artists in MA.

 

[quincy]

Pay attention to license issues ...as a matter of law it may be darn hard if not impossible to ever get paid if one is operating without required licenses that are required for health or safety reasons not just mere revenue reasons .

I believe there are state level licenses required for body artists in MA.

There are no state regulations. Here is a link to the various laws:
https://www.mass.gov/lists/body-art-community-sanitation

 

[Mass_Shyster]

I would be very surprised if a home based tatoo artist actually filed a lawsuit to recover payment for a defective service. That artist would be risking a counter suit under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law (Chapter 93A) that would make the artist liable for multiple damages PLUS attorney fees if he loses.

 

[Just Blue]

he works from home so I am not sure if he's licensed... I just really don't want to pay for a tattoo he messed up. I want to just get it corrected later on, I don't have the time or will to wait then take care of the correction to heal...

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