Client Bitten by Bed Bugs at a Daytona Beach Hotel Obtains Settlement
Author: Attorney Craig Dell
Our client Mr. J vacationed with his wife at a hotel in Daytona Beach, Florida. Mr. J arrived and checked in the hotel late in the evening. While pulling the comforter down on the bed Mrs. J observed a bug come out of one of the pillows, she thought nothing of it and went to bed. The next morning, Mr. J observed small blood stains on his side of the bed. Then, Mrs. J inspected his body for cuts, but did not find anything. Mrs. J then called housekeeping to come to the room. When housekeeping arrived Mrs. J showed the housekeeper the blood spots and requested the sheets be changed.
The next morning, Mr. J woke up and once again noticed little blood spots on his side of the bed. Mr. J contacted the housekeeping department, made another complaint and told hotel personnel he believed bed bugs were present in the room. The hotel denied any knowledge about having bed bugs at their property and moved Mr. and Mrs. J to another room.
Several days later, Mr. J checked out of the hotel. On the drive home back to North Carolina, Mr. J noticed multiple bites on his body that began to itch. The next evening, Mr. J had bites on his entire body that itched intensely. Two days later, Mr. J decided to seek medical attention for his bites with a local dermatologist. Mr. J entered the dermatologist’s office with complaints of bites, irritation and itching on his body. The doctor performed a physical evaluation and diagnosed Mr. J with bed bug bites; urticarial papules on his back; papules on his chest, breast, axillae, and abdomen; erythematous papules on his right upper extremity; erythematous papules on his upper left extremity; and popular urticarial due to bite reaction. As part of Mr. J’s medical treatment, the doctor prescribed multiple oral antibiotics and topical creams to be used daily to treat his bites.
After leaving the Doctor’s office, Mr. J called Mrs. J to confirm his bites were cause by bed bugs. Then, Mr. J immediately called the hotel and demanded to speak with the manager. Mr. J told the manager that his bites were caused by bed bugs and demanded compensation. The hotel manager admitted to Mr. J bed bugs were found in his room. Furthermore, the manager informed Mr. J that another guest stayed in the room after Mr. J left and complained to management about being attacked by bed bugs. There was no dispute that signs and symptoms of a bed bug infestation were present in Mr. J’s room.
Mr. J hired a professional exterminator to come out to his home and conduct an inspection for bed bugs, in fear that he may have brought them home with him. The exterminator inspected Mr. J’s home and made a positive finding of bed bugs in the home. Per the instruction of the exterminator Mr. and Mrs. J discarded all of their belongings they brought with them on their trip and agreed to pay $550 to have their home treated for bed bugs. Due to the intense itching and embarrassment, Mr. J missed two days from work. Mr. J demanded that the hotel reimburse him for all of his out of pocket expenses, lost wages, hotel stay, property damage and pain and suffering. The hotel made Mr. J a minimal offer and that is when he contacted our bed bug lawyers.
Our bed bug attorneys immediately filed an injury claim against the hotel and their insurance carrier. Our firm demanded monetary damages for bodily injury, pain and suffering, emotional distress, lost wages, mental anguish, property damage, past and future medical expenses.
After lengthy negotiations, our bed bug lawyers resolved the case. Our client was thrilled with the large recovery and that our firm went the extra mile for him. Everyone reading this article must understand that simply because a hotel denies knowledge of bed bugs at first and then makes a minimal offer to resolve your claim, does not mean you have to accept their offer without first consulting a lawyer.
Call us for a free consultation. There are no costs or fees unless we recover money for you. We also created a website dedicated exclusively to bed bug cases.
11 comments
I am writing from the emergency room after just seeing the doctor. He confirmwd that I had suffered multiple bed bug bites. I recieved bites last night at the Motel Six in Tyler, Tx. There was a big ice storm last night and the roads were super dangerous. I called ahead and got one of the last rooms available in the area, as travelers were seeking refuge from the storm. I got checked in and headed to bed shortly thereafter. I have sleep apnda so I must use a CPAP to sleep, at around 2am I felt a burning and itching sensation on my face around my CPAP mask. It would not go away, so I got up and washed by face with cool water and went back to bed. A few hours later I awoke with more burning and itching this time not only on my face, but my neck, back, arms, and legs. I couldn’t get back to sleep, so I got up and that’s when I noticed some little bugs crawling in the bed. I took pictures and video and notified the manager. He sent an employee up to the room and confirmed that there were live bugs crawling in my bed. He removed the sheets and put them outside the door. He seemed to indicate that this was not the first time this had happened. I didn’t want to get back out on the dangerous icy roads, but there were no rooms in the area so I risked it. Throughout the day the bed bug bite bumps continued to get larger and more painful, and that’s when I decided to go into the emergency room to seek treatment. I really feel that something should be done because this has really caused me a lot of undue stress. I travel constantly, and I am now terrified of waking up to bed bug bites again.
George,
I am very sorry to hear about your situation. So far you have taken all of the proper steps. You reported the bed bugs to management, took photos and received medical treatment. There are still many more steps that must be taken to document your claim and maximize any recovery against the hotel. Please call us at 800-383-7853 to discuss your potential injury claim further.
Dear Mr. Dell,
My husband and I checked into the Days Inn in Wildwood Florida on Friday, March 21, 2014. My husband is an over the road truck driver and he had to do his 34 hour reset, which is why we rent hotels 2 times a month. He woke up several times during the night because he felt very uncomfortable and kept scratching his arms, not even thinking the cause could be bed bugs because we have never encountered this experience. On Saturday as we were heading towards our destination in Iowa, my husbands arm starting swelling, burning sharp pain and was very itchy. When we checked his arms and neck we discovered multiple bites in a line pattern and blisters starting to appear within hours. As the day proceeded, pus began oozing out of the blisters, the pain was getting worse and his arm was swelling so much he was having difficulties operating his truck. We stopped several times after checking the internet on treatments and since we are not home to seek medical attention we were able to get advice from a pharmacist, who advised us it was definitely bed bug bites. He told us to continue icing for the swelling, take advil for the pain, Benadryl for the itching, apply cortisone and wash as often as possible with soap and water. He did tell us we would need an antibiotic for the infection (pus) which we do carry with us since we are always over the road. I did call and report this to the hotel and they apologized and asked what room and which bed! I have taken pictures of his arms and we are following the advice of the pharmacist. We are so stressed at this point since driving is our source of income and we do stay at hotels. Something needs to be done. Please help us.
Thank You,
Jeanette and Sal Frazzetto
Jeanette and Sal,
This is a terrible situation. Sal must seek medical attention with a dermatologist or primary care physician immediately. A dermatologist is best situated to provide a proper diagnosis and prescribe antibiotics to prevent the swelling, irritation and potential spread of infection. The Benadryl recommended by the pharmacists will only take Sal so far. Keep taking photos of Sal’s arms and other parts of his body with bed bug bites in order to show the progression of his injuries. It is best that you take photos every other day if possible. Call us as soon as possible at 800-383-7853 to discuss pursuing a claim against the Days Inn in Wildwood Florida.
Hello, I rented an apartment two days ago. I have only a verbal month to month lease. I have spent the two days here cleaning and have not brought any furniture or personal items into the apartment besides soaps. Today while caulking outsome areas, I found a bed big on the bedroom wall. I showed my mom and within the hour we found 10 more each filled with blood. I want to call the landlord and ask for my money back, and get a different place. I’m so creeped out! What do I do? Also my three year old daughter and my mom have several bites! Please help.
Lucy,
When you rent an apartment, the landlord has a legal duty to provide you (the tenant) with a residence that is safe and free from dangerous conditions to your health. Failure to do is negligence. Call us at 800-383-7853 so we can learn more about your case and figure out a way to help you get out of the apartment and receive compensation for your injuries.
I’m employed with a Best Western Plus in Lawton, OK. I’m a housekeeper, and unfortunately one of the rooms was infested with bed bugs, guests complained to the front desk. I had to go in that room and strip everything. The hotel didn’t give us any type of gear to put on to prevent us taking them home. Unfortunately I have brought them to my home. I brought it to my supervisor’s attention, along with notifying the general manager. So far she has given me some bed covers and some powder to put down in my house. I’m fed up! Please help me!
Kim,
Since you were employed by the hotel, you likely have a worker’s compensation claim. You will need to ask your employer for money to eliminate bed bugs in your home and for your injuries.
My son and daughter-in-law moved into a duplex 11 days ago. Within a few days she was covered in bites and welts. We discovered that the bites were form bedbugs. We immediately contacted the property management company to alert them of the problem. It took several phone calls, a trip to their office and a lot of aggravation before we received a call back about 8 hours after our first contact. We were instructed to text a picture of what we had found in the carpet to the pest control company they use. We did and later on that evening it was confirmed that in fact these were bedbugs. The property manager sent the pest control company to asses the situation and provide an estimate. They did, we were told by the pest control company that they recommend that we leave the premises for at least 5 days while they treat. The homeowner does not want to put out the money to do the treatment if there problem is going to come back. The homeowner wants a second opinion. The second company came out today and said it looks like the bedbugs have been there for 3 to 4 months, they will provide the property manager with an estimate to take care of the problem. I feel like we are getting the run around and are not going to get any type of relief for this problem. Could you please let me know what recourses we have?
Cat,
We are sorry to hear members of your family moved into a bed bug infested rental property. Your son and daughter-in-law should start and maintain a detailed journal of everything that occurs surrounding this situation. Additionally, they should take photographs of the bites/welts they have sustained as well as photographs of the bugs found in the unit.
You did the right thing by immediately putting the property ownership on notice of the infestation. In order to be able to determine if one of our bed bug lawyers can provide your son and daughter-in-law with assistance, please have one of them contact our office for a completely free consultation.
Hi, My husband and I was visiting a friend in Ok on this past weekend and we rented a room for 1 night. The next morning we discovered bumps on my husband. Didn’t think anything of it until my husband started to complain about the bumps being very uncomfortable while he was driving. So, when we got home we discovered several bumps on the both of us. We removed all of our clothing and items that we had taken with us and washed them in hot water. Cleaned rhe areas and applied ointment to them . I took pictures for our proof and contacted the hotel about our findings. I was told to call back on the next morning after 10:00 A.M. to speak with the manager. I will be doing so as soon as 10:09 comes. I feel that it is ridiculous to pay money to stay somewhere and have to endure this situation. My husband and I looked up different bug bites and can honestly say that the bites that ee have loojs as if they are Bed Bug Bites.