$50,000 Bed Bug Settlement in Yogi Bear Jellystone Park Campground Lawsuit

A $50,000 settlement was reached on behalf of Whitney, LLP’s client who spent one night at the Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort located in Williamsport, Maryland.  In April of 2019, the bed bug victim arrived at the Campground with her husband and children, and checked into Cabin 78.  The rustic wood panel interior provided many cracks and crevices for bed bugs to hide and wait to take their blood meal from the unsuspecting vacationing family.

Upon waking up on the morning of April 13, 2019 after her first night in the Cabin, our client found herself covered in about 50 intensely swollen, red bites which she described as “burning.”  She began to inspect the area where she had slept the night before, and discovered bed bugs crawling at the foot of her bed. She took pictures of the bugs and reported the infestation and bites to the campground management. Upon reporting the infestation, both the on-duty manager and maintenance technician inspected and confirmed the presence of bed bugs.  After realizing that the Cabin was infested, the family checked out and went home.  The vacation was ruined.  Not only was the vacation ruined, due to the severe allergic reaction, medical treatment was needed that evening.  To alleviate the severe itching and swelling, prescriptions for Benadryl, prednisone and famotidine were required.

Bed bug bites sustained by Whitney, LLP’s client on her right arm at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Campground – top view.

Bites sustained by Whitney, LLP’s client on her right arm at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Campground – side view.

The campground offered $3,000 to settle the claim before a lawsuit was filed.  The lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Maryland for Washington County alleged that the Campground knew or should have known that there was an active, longstanding bed bug infestation in and around the Cabin.  The lawsuit alleged that bed bugs and the tell-tale signs of bed bugs should have been detected by the Campground’s housekeepers prior to Plaintiffs’ arrival.

The Complaint further alleged that, prior to Plaintiffs’ check-in, the Campground had received prior complaints of bed bugs.  For instance, a July 2017 TripAdvisor.com review, quoted verbatim below, recounted a bed bug nightmare scenario:

We stayed in Cabin 72 for 4 nights and were covered in hundreds of bed bug bites. I had the cabin searched after the second night and even though I had already killed one bug, they said it must have been a tick and that there were no bed bugs. They only admitted it when I caught a live bug and showed them- along with the feces that was everywhere, the blood stains all over the pillows and bedding. I literally have well over 200 bites- maybe 300- and my kids are covered as well. They refunded only HALF of our stay, and did not eliminate the infestation before renting the cabin right back out- I watched and all they did was clean with a broom, and clean the kitchen and bathroom in a rushed way- NO steaming, no vacuums, no fumigation, nothing! And the cabin was rented out again and is apparently rented out for the next few weeks. The amount of bites we have leads me to think that they knew there was a problem. It was disgusting and disturbing to say the least. Furthermore- we explained that the friends in the cabin next door had likely transported bed bugs from our cabin 72 back to their cabin 71 because they had used our bedding and napped at our place etc.- they did NOTHING to check that cabin for bed bugs at all.

The Campground’s attorneys had refused to provide the names of prior campers who had complained of bed bug attacks.  Whitney, LLP had to file a motion requesting the Court to Order production of the information.  While the motion was pending the case settled.  Of note is that before the Court was informed of the settlement, the Motion to Compel was granted.

Lawyers for Campground Bed Bug Cases

Whitney, LLP’s attorneys have experience recovering over $12 million in compensation for victims of bed bug bites in apartments, hotels, vacation rentals and campgrounds.  Some of our prior results can be viewed here, along with testimonials of some of our past clients. We offer a Legal Consultation, with case expenses and attorney’s fees paid out of compensation recovered from the responsible party. Call us at 410 583 8000, or use our Quick Contact Form.