Los Angeles is a destination spot for tourists all around the world.
It’s known for its diverse set of hotels, from lavish luxury to simple and convenient. Though this has made Los Angeles one of the most consistently popular cities in the country, it has also made it a major landing spot for bed bug infestations.
Have you stayed at a hotel in Los Angeles and been bitten by bed bugs? If so you have come to the right place.
Sue a Los Angeles Hotel For Your Bed Bug Injuries
It doesn’t make a difference whether its a five-star hotel or a motel, bed bugs do not discriminate. Hotels are obligated to provide clean, safe, and sanitary living environments for their residents. When you stay in a bed bug infested hotel room, the hotel has breached its duty.
As a victim and guest of the hotel – You may be entitled to compensation due to negligence.
Being a victim of bed bugs can be a traumatic and embarrassing experience. Many victims have discovered that it’s not just about the bites and property damage, but the mental and emotional damage can be just as debilitating to your everyday life.
Bed bug victims often experience the following non-physical symptoms:
- Emotional Distress & Anxiety
- Disturbed Sleep due to a constant fear the infestation will reoccur
- Hurt relationships due to experience (especially during a vacation)
- Long term depression due to negative cosmetic effects such as scarring
Most hotel owners & operators typically prefer to settle these matters outside of court. Avoiding lawsuits is important to maintain the hotel’s reputation which can cause them to lose future business.
Many hotels are beginning to create lawsuit plans and raising rates to help finance a better staffed legal and insurance team.
Bed Bug Facts – Why They’re a Growing Problem
Bed bugs are not a new problem, as the world has a history of bed bug infestations dating back centuries. The number of infestations actually dropped drastically during the 1950s, but we have seen a notable resurgence in the past few decades.
Bed bugs have evolved key survival techniques. They can now live for months without food and can withstand common pesticides that used to kill them easily in the mid 20th century.
Other than hiring a professional pest control company, only certain DIY methods actually succeed at killing these creatures.
In Los Angeles, bed bugs are showing up in private homes, offices, and even luxury hotels. On a daily basis, people of all ages and social background experience painful bites, bringing more and more people to ask the question: How dangerous are bed bugs?
The large number of reports of bed bug infestations make the size of the problem apparent. The CDC reports that diseases can be found in bed bugs after they ingest human blood, but no epidemiologic evidence of disease transmission exists.
We can breathe easier knowing that if we’re bitten, it’s unlikely we’ll get diseases like the coronavirus from a bed bug bite.
Overview of Los Angeles Hotel Bed Bug Cases
In 2014 – A prevalent Los Angeles Apartment Building received a 45% reduction on rent for six months due to a severe infestation that left one of its victims hospitalized for 11 days.
In 2017 – A resident claimed she experienced an infestation of hundreds of bed bugs in a motel that she stayed at while recovering from cancer. She sued the motel for pain and suffering, embarrassment, and medical expenses. She had photo evidence of several bites and visible bed bugs in her bed. The owner of the motel tried and failed to fight back denying the allegations by claiming of two recent “inspections” that had taken place.
In 2019 – A group staying at a Hilton location in Los Angeles filed a lawsuit for over $6 million dollars. They claimed to have over over 200 bites and alleged these injuries had taken a significant toll on the quality of their lives.
The cases mentioned above are just examples of a small fraction of the total amount of bed bug lawsuits that have been filed.
The majority of these cases do not gather much public attention, as many of them are settled out of court. Unfortunately, as traveling becomes more and more common the bed bug epidemic will continue to get worse.
For this reason if you stay at a temporary residence or move into a new apartment, you should properly inspect for bed bugs before you go to sleep.
Legal Rights Bed Bug Victims in Los Angeles
To speak generally, hospitality owners have a legal obligation to keep their properties in reasonably safe condition. In general a bed bug infestation would be qualified as “unsafe” as it’s unsanitary and potentially very harmful.
In some cases if you notice even one bed bug it can mean a severe infestation has occurred.
Some potential rights that could be breached are:
Liability claims – These typically focus on negligence; which is allowing the condition to worsen and continue to have associated danger. In this case owners of the premises have failed to meet the standard of duty and care. California requires that homes, condos, and apartment owners disclose any history of infestation to a prospective tenant or change in ownership.
Breach of Implied Warranty of Habitability – This is another legal doctrine that focuses on an owner’s responsibility to maintain its property in certain condition. Depending on conditions, the presence of bed bugs and damage they cause diminishes the habitability of a residence and can render it unlivable.
Battery – This is another potential avenue of pursuing damages for a bed bug infestation. Essentially this entails that the landlord’s awareness of a condition that is known to cause harm, absent of any effort to end contact from reoccurrence, may constitute battery.
Sue a Landlord in Los Angeles for a Bed Bug Infestation
The state of California requires that landlords provide a safe and livable home for their tenants. If your landlord refuses to take action, you have some options.
It’s possible you can take the following action against your landlord:
- Withhold rent
- Report your landlord to the local health department
- Pay for extermination and deduct this cost from your rent payment
- Move out without paying any future rent
- Write a bed bug demand letter
While tenants actively occupy an apartment building, the landlord is responsible for properly maintaining that building. This includes the extermination of bed bugs on their properties.
California Bed Bug Laws & Regulation
Some new bed bug laws in California went into effect as of January 2017.
Due to a surge in tenant filed bed bug litigation, the legislature has responded with the following amendments to bed bug laws:
Civil Code 1954.602
This law prohibits landlords from showing, renting, or leasing units that are knowingly infested with bed bugs. Be mindful that this does not require landlords to inspect for bed bugs, but if the infestation is apparent, the landlord is considered to have knowledge of it.
Civil Code 1942.5 (amended in AB 2281)
This law prohibits landlords from evicting a tenant from complaints about an existing or suspecting infestation.
Civil Code 1954.603
This law requires landlords to notify tenants about the procedure of reporting a bed bug infestation. It should spell out both the tenant and landlord obligations for reporting.
The individual on the management side is responsible for receiving, documenting, and taking action on notices of an infestation.
What Compensation Can I receive From a Bed Bug Lawsuit?
The amount of compensation you can receive depends on the following factors:
- The severity of your injury: The number of bites you receive, any adverse reaction from the bites, or any cosmetic disfigurement.
- Pain and Suffering: Any suffering you have endured as result of the long term psychological effects that a bed bug infestation can have.
- Monetary Losses – This includes losses resulting from lost wages, damaged furniture, or anything you had to throw out as a result of the infestation.
- Medical Cost – Any bills you received from hospital visits related to your injuries.
Click here For information on the average value of a bed bug lawsuit.
Los Angeles Bed Bug Lawsuit Attorneys
Our team of Los Angeles based bed bug specialists will connect you with an experienced attorney to help strengthen your claim to potential compensation.
If you or a loved one was bitten by bed bugs in your Los Angeles hotel or apartment, we can connect you with a licensed bed bug lawyer immediately.
Get in touch today for a FREE CONSULTATION. NO FEES unless you win your case.