CHELSEA — A hand model was “badly burned” by a defective light during a photography class at the Fashion Institute of Technology, a new lawsuit charges.
Roxanne Semonella was acting as a hand model in the class at the West 27th Street school on April 21, 2016 when a “defective and dangerous setup light” burned the backs of her hands, the suit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court on Tuesday claims.
The Nassau County resident suffered second-degree burns and blisters, according to the suit filed against FIT and its board of trustees.
" ... Semonella was caused to sustain serious and severe permanent personal injuries, including but not limited [to] severe burns to both hands, past and future pain and suffering, scarring, disfigurement, increased chance of skin cancer, loss of enjoyment of life and embarrassment,” the suit says, adding that she is still incurring "great expense" for medical treatment.
Both the board of trustees and FIT itself “had a duty to protect [Semonella] from injury while [she] was lawfully within the premises,” the suit adds.
The lawsuit did not provide further information about Semonella, including her age and whether she was an FIT student at the time of the incident.
She's seeking unspecified damages, according to the suit.
Neither an FIT spokeswoman nor Semonella's attorney responded to requests for comment Wednesday.
