Just the words “bed bugs” can make a person itch. Bed bugs are tiny creatures that live in the hidden crevices of mattresses or other places where people – who are their meal ticket – reside. Bed bugs come out at night and feed on your blood, and while they do not carry diseases, they will make you break out in a red rash that is unsightly and uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, bed bugs are incredibly hard to eradicate.
Fortunately, you have legal resources if your landlord, hotel, or even if the retail store that sold you infested furniture, failed to take care of this problem.
Bed Bug Lawsuits
Bed bugs are no joke. We’ve fielded dozens of calls where tenants have signed a lease with a landlord, only to find their kids covered in itchy red welts. If you’re struggling with a property or business owner that’s failed to take responsibility for kicking the bugs out, there is legal precedence that can reimburse the pain, suffering, and medical bills you endure. Here are some examples:
– HuffPost reported on the case of an Annapolis woman who sued her landlord after he failed to treat the infestation in her apartment. She had moved into the apartment not realizing that the landlord had already been ordered by the city to eradicate the blood-sucking pests. After only a few days she ended up covered from head to toe in bed bug bites. The landlord did not comply with either the city’s orders or his tenant’s pleas, so the tenant sought legal representation and took him to court. She won a settlement for $800,000.
– The Baltimore Sun shared the story of the Jackson family, who purchased new beds from a local furniture retailer. Within a few weeks, the son was complaining of an itchy rash. They visited an allergist and received treatment, but the problem. In the middle of the night, the child woke the parents up crying that bugs were crawling and biting him. When they flipped the mattress they found so many bed bugs that they fell off in clumps. A jury awarded the family $225,000.
When it comes to bed bug lawsuit settlements, we’ve found that, while it is difficult to achieve an award without a trained legal professional, juries are increasingly sympathetic to these cases.
Bed bugs are treatable and preventable. There is absolutely no excuse for a landlord or a business to not respond to reports of bed bugs. State statutes defining the tenant/landlord responsibility and relationship typically control these cases. Most states place the burden of pest elimination on the landlord to call and pay for a pest treatment company.
Bed Bug Lawsuit Settlements – Ingerman & Horwitz, LLP.
The experienced attorneys at Ingerman & Horwitz, LLP. understand your rights and believe one of them includes living in a comfortable home free of the nightmare that comes with these infestations. We’ve found that lawsuits are often necessary in these cases, as many standard tenant/landlord agreements do not address responsibility in these areas.
If you are struggling with a bed bug infestation, and the responsible party is not responding, contact us for a no-obligation discussion of your case. We’re here to help.
