Woman says she was burned during hot stone massage

SPRING, Texas – A Spring woman says the time she set aside to relax ended up being one of the most painful experiences of her life.

Danielle Cordesman thought a hot stone massage at her neighborhood spa sounded like a good idea.

"I love them! They're relaxing," Cordesman said.

The mother of three says she never imagined it would leave her with what she claims were horrible burns on her back that eventually caused her excruciating pain. Cordesman said she discovered them after she got home and took a shower. 

"All down my back there are five huge welts that are starting to bubble", she said. 

Cordesman said she had pictures of the burns taken less than an hour after leaving Massage Envy. She sought medical treatment from at least two different doctors and claims the burns were severe.

"They had burned through the skin and had heated up the vertebrae, and so the tissue around the vertebrae started to burn", Cordesman said.

According to Cordesman's medical records obtained by Local 2, a doctor found four large burns on her back along the spine, three of which were second-degree and one possibly third-degree.

Cordesman claims it took her six months to recover and insists she contacted Massage Envy shortly after her visit to the spa.

"I got a message from the manager saying, 'I'm sorry your experience didn't go as planned. Go ahead and put some aloe vera on your burns, get back in touch with us and let us know how you're doing,'" Cordesman said.

Dwayne Bernhardt, the clinic's owner said this was the first he's heard of it and that a formal complaint was never filed.

"Until I can verify anything, we have absolutely nothing to say. I don't know what's going on," Bernhardt said.

Massage Envy's corporate office released the following statement, which says, in part: "Our clinics take all customer complaints very seriously and have a national process and policy to respond to and document any incident to protect its members, guests and staff."

It's been over a year since the ordeal and Cordesman said the scars on her back area constant reminder of what she went through.

"Somebody needs to be monitoring how hot those stones get. There needs to be a set temperature. There needs to be a set mechanism", Cordesman said. 

Cordesman has hired an attorney and said a lawsuit isn't out of the question.


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