Lisa, a 23-year-old marketing executive purchased a pot of wax for the removal of unwanted hair. The instructions said to place it in a 600-wat microwave for 3 minutes, then let the product cool for a minute and a half and apply with a spatula on the relevant areas.

Lisa followed the instructions. She went to take the plastic pot out of the microwave and the wall of the pot had disintegrated to such an extent that the hot wax made contact with her right hand. Lisa was shocked and let go of the plastic pot. She sustained an injury to the inside of her right hand, and a burn mark including a small scar when healed.

The injury to her hand affected her writing, her workouts in the gym and her upcoming skiing holiday. The manufactures of the removal product were a large American Company. They denied all liability. The court case was issued in the Circuit Court. It turned out that Lisa had re-heated the plastic pot on a number of occasions and that there were no instructions on the pot regarding heating the wax on multiple occasions. The matter was settled for €19,000 and costs just prior to the case being heard in court.