$75,000 Baltimore Bed Bug Lawsuit Settlement

Whitney, LLP filed a lawsuit and recovered $75,000 for our client who was forced to live with an infestation of bed bugs in their Baltimore City apartment.  Bed bug infestations are a problem in Baltimore City, and many landlords do not fix an infestation once they are made aware. Instead, they often ignore it and let their tenants get bitten due to the cost of properly treating the infestation. Tenants in Baltimore have many legal rights and can fight back and sue for compensation when they are bitten by bed bugs through the negligence of their landlord.

When a lawsuit is needed to get a company’s attention, or to make sure fair compensation is provided to our client, we do what we do best – File suit and fight for our client.  Here are some of our results, and here is what our satisfied clients have to say about their experience with us representing them.

Bed bug from infested Baltimore Apartment. This bug was found within several weeks of our clients moving in.

Moving into a Bed Bug Infested Apartment in Baltimore City

The case began as many bed bug cases do. Our clients moved into the Apartment.  Within several days of moving in, they began noticing intensely itchy, red bites on their bodies but did not know what was causing it.  One of our clients sustained an allergic reaction to the intensely itchy bites and sought medical treatment.  Within two more weeks, they discovered bed bugs crawling in the Apartment, and realized that they had been deceived into leasing the Apartment with a pre-existing bed bug infestation. Prior to moving into the Apartment, they had never experienced bed bugs.  Our clients then spoke with their neighbors, and discovered that other neighbors had been experiencing bed bugs as well.

After finding the bed bugs in their Apartment, they reported the infestation to the property manager.  The property manager at first ignored the reports, and then finally scheduled a pest control treatment 30 days later.   The acceptable standard for scheduling a treatment in an infested apartment is generally one week, at the latest.  After the first treatment was performed, the infestation went away at first, but then reappeared.  Thereafter, the rental unit located directly below the Apartment was treated for bed bugs.  When that occurred, our clients noticed the infestation gaining in the number of bed bugs they saw.  This is a typical occurrence when one unit is treated – the infestation will spread to the adjacent units.  This is what usually happens when a management company chooses to treat the infestations in an apartment building on a one-by-one basis, instead of addressing it as one large problem When the infestation returned, our clients had enough and chose to move out.

As the result of the pre-existing bed bug infestation, our clients sustained bed bug rights, experienced emotional distress including anxiety, stress and embarrassment, and discarded personal property.

Bed Bug Attorney for Tenants

Bed Bug infestations are everywhere in Maryland. Our bed bug attorneys have successfully represented clients in bed bug legal cases in Maryland in, including in Baltimore, Glen Burnie, Annapolis, Ocean City, Deep Creek Lake, Dundalk, Columbia, College Park, Rockville, Frederick, Easton and Upper Marlboro Bowie.

To unsuspecting new tenants who rent a bed bug infested apartment, entrenched bed bugs are a hidden hazard, as bed bugs are known to hide within walls, under carpets, behind trim board, and in small crevices. Bed bugs typically feed at night when their hosts are asleep and retreat during the day. Further, bed bugs are known to withdraw to these hiding places and become dormant in the absence of a human resident on which to feed, giving a vacant apartment the appearance of non-infestation to an untrained and unsuspecting eye. Property managers who provide infested apartments to their tenants, and do not take the proper precautions to ensure there are no bed bugs, are negligent. When a property manager is negligent, their tenants have legal rights to cover compensation for injuries causes by that negligence.

After our clients contacted us and we reviewed the facts and investigated, it was obvious they had been moved into a bed bug infested apartment.  After our letters were ignored by the property management company, we filed suit.  Shortly after suit was filed, we were contacted by their lawyer.  Within several weeks, negotiations began and we were able to resolve the case quickly for our clients for $75,000.

If you, your family or friends were bitten by bed bugs, Whitney, LLP’s bed bug lawyers can help.  Victims of bed bugs have many legal rights, and we know how to apply those rights to recover compensation for you.  Use our Online Quick Contact Form, or Call Us Now at 410 583 8000. We offer a Free Case Evaluation, and there are no fees or expenses until we recover compensation for our clients.