Bed Bug Injury Lawyer in Florida
A bed bug attack is the last thing you expect to encounter on a cruise, but Monica Robertson, an Australian woman celebrating her 70th birthday with a Pacific Encounter cruise was repeatedly bitten by these creatures and ended up having to discard most of her clothing after returning home. What is worse is the cruise company refused to refund her money, although she had taken numerous pictures and caught several bugs and turned them over to cruise ship staff. She also received several bites that grew to the size of half dollars. The staff refused to disclose to her the results of their investigation of the insects and stated that no bugs were observed when they prepared her room.
A bedbug outbreak also occurred among four Las Vegas hotels along the Resort strip within four months earlier this year. The affected hotels were Encore, the Excalibur Hotel and Casino, the Mirage, and the Venetian, according to Southern Nevada Health District records. Only one room in each of the hotels were affected, and they were put out of service.
These are just two recent bed bug incidents that were reported to news outlets. However, bedbug attacks happen quite often especially in places of public accommodation like hotels, restaurants and movie theaters in Florida which is a very popular tourist destination. In fact, according to New York City dermatologist Charles Puza, hotels are often sources of bedbugs, so travelers are well advised to check their hotel room for telltale signs of bedbugs including mattress seams, box springs, bed frames, couches, floorboards, etc. Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia are notably some of the top locations for bedbugs. Another physician, Dr. Jason Singh, advises travelers to avoid unpacking their suitcases and placing their clothes in hotel dressers for the same reason—to avoid bedbugs. According to Dr. Singh, hotel dressers, which are rarely cleaned, are a favorite hangout of these pesky creatures. Dressers made of wood and that have joints and crevices are especially likely to be infested with bedbugs, and these infestations have nearly tripled in the past two years. Dr. Singh suggests either keeping clothes in suitcases or hanging clothes up in closets to avoid bedbug exposure. Electrical outlets and picture frames have also been known to attract bedbugs in hotel rooms. To force bedbugs out of hiding. Dr. Singh recommends holding a hair dryer on the highest heat setting along mattress seams before going to sleep.
Travelers spending the night in a hotel are also advised to avoid touching the remote control for the tv, bedside lamp switches, and uncovered glassware, as these items are likely to be loaded with bacteria spread by housekeeping tools like sponges and mops. Hotel guests are also cautioned to avoid using complimentary shampoo, conditioner and soap placed in the hotel bathroom, as these items are loaded with fragrances and excessively drying to the skin.
Orkin, a leading pest control company, conducts an annual survey of cities with the most calls for control of bedbugs. Chicago took first place for the fourth year in a row, followed by New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland-Akron, Ohio, and Los Angeles, California, showing that the problem is country wide. Greensboro, North Carolina suddenly jumped 25 places to become #18. The outbreak also spread to Paris, France, after the widely attended Fashion Week drew visitors from New York and other cities. In addition, an official from a New York-based pest control company noted that recent outbreaks in the U.S. are the result of travel from Central and South America.
A common question our Florida Bed Bug Lawyer gets is “What do I do after a bedbug injury incident?“
The first thing to do after discovering you have been bitten by bedbugs in a hotel, motel or extended stay rental in Florida is to video and photograph the bedbugs with your cell phone. When you photograph the bedbugs in your room, do ensure you have closeups, but also wider angles that can provide context for the photo and prove where the picture was taken. Make sure you have geotagging turned on when you video and photograph the bedbugs so it can conclusively be shown where the photo was taken. We recently handled a case that was denied because post-report environmental testing did not find any bedbugs, but our client had geotagged evidence of bedbugs in her/his room which we used to overcome the denial and settle the case. If you can capture and preserve the bed bug, do so.
The next thing you have to do is report the infestation to management, complete an incident report and asked to be moved to a clean room. Take a photograph of any report you fill out or sign. Be brief and concise in your statement remembering they will try and use any extra or unnecessary information you provide to deny blame you and deny your claim. For example, the hotel likes to ask where you were before checking in to try and suggest you brought the bed bugs with you. This is why less is more when reporting the claim. Get the name and contact information for the manager taking your report. Despite what he/she may tell you, the hotel will not provide you a copy of the report after the fact so it is important to preserve a copy for yourself. Next, photograph your bites and continue to do so until they disappear. Do be sure to also seek medical attention from Urgent Care, Emergency Room, Primary Care Doctor, etc., for your bites and follow any treatment protocol recommended. If the bites do not subside, or result in scarring, you should follow up with a Dermatologist and/or Plastic Surgeon.
Be careful before bringing your belongings (suitcase, luggage, clothing, etc.) back into your home after you have been bitten by bedbugs at a hotel or confirmed you were staying in a hotel room that was infested with bedbugs. Inspect your belongings and look in the seams of your suitcase upon returning home. If you find any bedbugs, document the findings and call an exterminator to handle removal. When it comes to damage to your belongings from bed bugs, photographs the belongings before discarding and keep receipts for all replacement items. If you have receipts for the initial purchase of the damaged item, preserve those as well.
What happens after I report a bed bug infestation?
After a bed bug incident has been reported, the hotel, motel or extended stay rental will hire a company to perform an inspection of your room. It is not uncommon for this inspection to come back negative. Based on this, the hotel will deny your claim leaving innocent victims feeling helpless and with potentially large out of pocket bills for medical treatment and property damage. Do not be discouraged. There are lots of reasons why post-incident inspection may be negative. Perhaps the inspection was not diligently or honestly performed. Many times the inspection is not undertaken immediately, but rather hours or days later and after the bed bugs have moved on. If the rooms adjacent to yours were not simultaneously inspected, the bed bugs could have gone undetected.
An important WARNING to all bedbug victims.
Besides reporting the incident, do not speak to the insurance company without the assistance of a skilled bed bug injury attorney. The insurance company may contact you for a recorded statement, authorization for medical records, medical examination or something else that will not help your case. These are all things you do not have to do and that a bed bug lawyer would object to. The adjuster knows this and tries to get unrepresented victims to agree before they have the benefit of counsel. Any information they get from you will be used to minimize, diminish or deny your claim. Finally, never accept a settlement offer, free stay, gift card or other thing of monetary value in compromise of your bed bug injury or property damage claim. Do not sign a release or deposit any checks or gift cards without consulting with a Florida Bed Bug Lawyer like David B. Datny.
If you have been injured by bed bugs, or suffered property damage due to the same, The Datny Law Firm in Boca Raton, Wellington and Winter Park is here to help. Call 561-221-7474 any time for a consultation with our Florida Bed Bug Lawyer.
We proudly represent bed bug injury clients throughout the State of Florida from the Florida Keys to Miami to Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach all the way to Orlando/Kissimmee and Daytona Beach.
Read our blog post regarding a recent Orlando hotel bed bug injury settlement here.