Client Claims Our Salon Caused Scalp Infection + Hair Loss, But Pi Found Unrelated Domestic Violence Injury. Their Lawyer Waited A Year, Now Wants Settlement Before Filing. Normal?location : Pennsylvania

Location: Pennsylvania

I help run a small family-owned hair salon.

About 11 months ago, a new client came in for a basic wash and deep-conditioning treatment. The service was routine — no cuts, no burns, no complaints during the appointment. She spent most of the time scrolling on her phone and left happy, tipped, and never contacted us again.

A month later, we got a letter from a personal-injury attorney claiming the client developed a severe scalp infection that supposedly caused a patch of her hair and scalp to fall out. The demand letter didn’t include:

• the location of the alleged injury
• any medical records
• any photos
• any doctor’s notes
• any bills
• any timeline

Just a claim that “your stylist caused an infection leading to tissue loss.”

We forwarded it to our business insurance. They reviewed it and denied coverage because the claim fell under an excluded category.

Almost immediately after the insurance denial, the client’s attorney changed the narrative from:

“Your stylist caused the scalp wound” → “Your salon was unclean and unsanitary.”

Except we passed a state inspection shortly after the service with zero violations.

Still, the attorney did nothing for months. No lawsuit. No updated evidence. No medical documents.

Because the whole thing felt strange, we hired a licensed private investigator to verify the timeline. The PI found something surprising:

About three weeks after our appointment, the client was involved in a domestic violence incident where her boyfriend allegedly struck her in the head.
Police were called, and according to the PI report, she had visible injuries on her face and head.

This raised obvious questions about whether those injuries were related to the medical treatment she claimed.

Fast-forward to last week — nearly a year later — her attorney suddenly emailed our lawyer saying:

Still no lawsuit. Still no medical records. Still no proof of infection.
Nothing except a request for settlement before filing anything.

Our attorney said this is “a very odd request at this stage.”

So my question is:

Is this normal?
Is it common for a plaintiff’s lawyer to:

• wait almost a full year
• never provide medical evidence
• change the story after insurance denies coverage
• ignore a major alternative cause of injury
• and then ask for settlement before filing a complaint?

Or is this more typical of a weak case where the attorney doesn’t actually have medical support?

Thanks.