Myrtle Beach is a city and major vacation resort on the Atlantic Coast of South Carolina.
This area is also the hub of the Grandstand, a stand of beaches 60 miles long. Myrtle beach is widely known for its celebrity designed golf courses, and beachfront boardwalks.
Myrtle beach is home to around 30,000 permanent residents and millions of visitors. People come to enjoy the wide beaches, warm weather, and incredible range of entertainment and activities.
While all of this tourism and foot traffic is great for Myrtle Beach’s booming economy, it does not come without its problems.
A growing problem that this city and tourism hub deal with are bed bug infestations. With hundreds of cases reported last year, bed bugs are terrorizing residents in their homes, condos, and apartments, along with tourists in their hotels and Airbnb’s.
Bed Bug Lawyer in Myrtle Beach
Bed bugs can overtake any room, no matter how clean and tidy the premises are. These insects are attracted by their only source of food, blood.
This is why they are attracted to bedrooms, so that they can feed on their hosts while they sleep.
To fight the growing bed bug population and help improve public health, counties around South Carolina have put in place regulations to hold landlords & hotel managers responsible.
Similarly, hotels are required to provide their guests with a hazard free, safe, and clean environment.
If you were victim to bed bugs at Myrtle Beach, or any surrounding city, you may be entitled to sue for your losses. Our team of bed bug experts can help! Get in touch with us today.
What Are Bed Bugs? Let’s talk about the facts
Bed bugs are small, reddish-brown parasitic insects that look to bite exposed skin on mammals.
Bed bugs are typically about the size of an apple seed, and like to hide in the following areas:
- Under your mattress, comforter, box spring, or headboard
- Along baseboards
- Behind wall hangings
- Under furniture
- Any nook, cranny, or crevice that they can find
The risk of encountering bed bugs increases if you spend time in places with high foot traffic and turnover.
Bed Bug Symptoms
For the most part, injuries caused from bed bugs are not overly dangerous. Bed bug bites can also occur anywhere on the body, and there are instances where people have no reaction at all.
There are cases where some experience more severe allergic reactions that can include bad itching, blisters, or hives.
In general though, a bed bug bite will have the following characteristics:
- Red, often with a darker red spot in the middle
- Itchy or irritated in some regard
- Arranged in a rough line, cluster, or zig zag pattern
- Often located on the face, neck, arms, or legs.
It can be difficult to distinguish bed bug bites from other insects, so it’s important to analyze the bites and the bugs you find from the infestation closely.
Steps to Take After a Bed Bug Infestation
Experiencing a bed bug infestation can be extremely, traumatic, and it’s important to take necessary steps to ensure you build your bed bug case properly.
Though not taking these appropriate steps would not totally ruin your chances for receiving compensation..
In order to put your best foot forward, here’s what you should do:
- Treat your injuries: Make sure to treat your injuries properly, and if you’re experiencing severe symptoms it would make sense to seek medical attention from a trained professional.
- Takes pictures of your bites: Take pictures of the bites wherever they occur on your body, to ensure that you document the full nature of the injury.
- Photograph the bed bugs: Locate the bed bugs and do your best to take pictures (and even gather samples if necessary) of the infestation. In ideal scenarios you would also locate the nest to document the full extent of the infestation.
- File a Report: Get in contact with your landlord or the hotel manager, and formally report the bed bug situation. If it’s a hotel manager make sure that you get their name/number, and that everything is written down.
- Get Information: Ask the hotel for insurance information. Do not speak with the hotel or an insurance adjuster to discuss settlement, any comment made to them can reduce your right to recovering compensation. If they offer you a gift or money do not accept it.
- Take action: In this step you can get in contact with one of our bed bug experts, or if you prefer to take matters into your own hands you can draft a bed bug demand letter.
Sue a Myrtle Beach Hotel For Bed Bugs
Bed bug bites can cause a combination of physical, mental, and emotional distress in additional to medical costs. All of these together can culminate into a bed bug lawsuit to get you full compensation with the help of a qualified bed bug lawyer.
You may be able to sue hotel owners and management for negligence if this is discovered to be present during the cause of an infestation for you or a loved one.
In addition to your physical injuries, there are a number of other types of compensation you could be eligible for. These include:
- Property Damage: Property that had to be discarded due the bed bug infestation. Remember don’t wait for bed bugs to go away on their own, it’s important to use a certified bed bug pest control professional to exterminate the infestation.
- Lost Wages from time off work
- Pain and Suffering
- Emotional Distress and trauma
- The cost of ruined or shortened vacations or trips
- Any cosmetic scarring or physical embarrassment you experience from the bites
Our bed bug experts can help you get the compensation you deserve.
For more information about getting help with your case, get in touch with us using the form below. For helpful resources and information involving bed bugs, be sure to visit our blog here.