How Did I Get Bed Bugs and Who Is Responsible?

Watch the Video Below: Finding out “How did I get bed bugs”, and “Who is responsible for bed bugs”, are two questions that our Maryland lawyers for bed bugs are often asked. After renters find bed bugs after moving into a new apartment, or after hotel guests are being bitten after staying at a hotel, the landlord or hotel manager is often responsible for bed bug infestations that cause bites, harm and property damage to unsuspecting guests.

Fortunately, landlords and hotel management companies can be held responsible for negligently providing infested hotel rooms and apartments.

Whitney, LLP’s attorneys for bed bugs specialize in Maryland bed bug cases and have recovered over $13,000,000 for our clients in bed bug claims cases, verdicts and settlements. Consultations are always free.

Compensation for bed bug claims often includes money for bed bug bites, emotional distress from dealing with an infestation, time spent living with an infestation, property damage and other economic loss.

If you are dealing with bed bugs bites and infestations in Maryland, our bed bug lawyers may be able to help. Our Woodlawn Bed Bug Attorney also p provides representation in bed bug infestation cases throughout Maryland, including in Baltimore, Pasadena, Cockeysville, Owings Mills, Temple Hills, Marlow Heights, Middle River, Germantown, Silver Spring, Frederick, Waldorf, Laurel, Glen Burnie, Gaithersburg, Rockville, Ellicott City and Salisbury.

What Is Your Case Worth? We offer Legal Consultations and our Clients in bed bug cases pay no out of pocket fees or expenses. Call us at 410 583 8000, or use our Quick Contact Form, to discuss your potential case. Here is our YouTube Channel for our videos on responsibility bed bug infestations and legal rights.

Edited Transcript is Below:

Who Is Responsible for Bed Bugs ?

Hi, this is Dan Whitney with the Whitney Law Firm in Towson, Maryland. Today we’re going to talk about, “How did I get bed bugs?” And more importantly, “What can you do about it when it happens to you?”

I’ve been an attorney for about 10 years. I’ve handled many, many bed bug cases, recovered approximately $13 million for our clients in bed bug cases. Usually when somebody comes and says, “Look, I’ve got bed bugs,” they come to me because they got it in either a hotel, a vacation rental, or an apartment.

When that happens, Whitney, LLP’s lawyers can often help hold the landlord responsible for the bed bug infestation. Our clients are often surprised at how much their bed bug claims may be worth.

How Did I Get Bed Bugs ?

When people want to know, “How did I get bed bugs?” Usually it’s because you were in a place where there were bed bugs. And of course, bed bugs can be picked up from ride sharing, movie theaters, sitting in a restaurant, and somebody could brush against you and if they had one on their clothes. That could then be transferred to your clothes.

But typically, people get bed bugs once they are in an area that’s infested and they spend some time there, time enough so the bugs can then hitchhike, onto your clothes or onto your belongings.

And of course, the places most people spend the most time at are in hotel rooms or apartments. Because that’s where we take our clothes off, we spend the night, we put our clothes back on, we pack up our briefcase, our luggage, and then we leave.

And what happens is when the bugs come out and they’re searching for something to eat, they go into the clothing, and into the luggage, and then they stay with you. Then they go back to wherever you were going from.

I Got Bed Bugs From a Hotel

The biggest question is, other than, “How did I get bed bugs?” is “What can you do about bed bugs?” That’s where I get into these bed bug cases. And we say, “Okay, you’ve got bed bugs. Who is responsible?”

Now of course if you go to hotel and you’ve never had bed bugs before and you spend a night or two, and you start seeing bites break out, and they’re itchy, and they’re red, there’s a good chance it’s bed bugs, and then usually if that happens and the room is inspected, you’re going to find the bed bugs.

Bringing Bed Bugs Home From a Hotel

Now what happens sometimes at a hotel is they don’t know that it’s bed bugs, and then they go home. And then they go home, and within several days, or even a week or two, they start to develop more of these itchy, red bites across their body, and of course they start to find the bugs.

It’s a disgusting situation, but what happens very often is people stay at a hotel, don’t realize the hotel room is infested. The bugs hitchhike onto the clothing and suitcases, then the people, the hotel guests, bring the infestation back to their home which is a nightmare.

Because now the house is infested. It’s probably going to be over $1,000 to treat, to treat it properly, and it’s a nightmare for several weeks or months, depending on how bad the infestation can get entrenched and how long it lasts.

Claims and Lawsuits Against a Hotel for Bed Bugs

In a situation like that, what you can do about the infestation of bed bugs after you get them from a hotel is you backtrack and say, “Okay, now who is responsible for the infestation? Whose negligence is responsible for me getting the infestation?”

And of course, the position would be, “If I stayed at a hotel and the hotel had bed bugs, that shouldn’t have happened,” and because I got the infestation from the hotel, I’m now going to hold the hotel accountable, likely with a lawsuit, and say, “Because of your negligence, you gave me an infested room, and now I’ve brought the infestation back to my home. Now I’m going to hold you responsible for that.” So that’s how somebody gets bed bugs in a hotel and ends up bringing it back to their house.

Responsibility for Apartment Bed Bug Infestations

In an apartment, you could be moved into an infested apartment that was already infested with a bed bug infestation. Often, the landlord did not treat the bed bug infestation properly, before you moved in, did not disclose it to you, and now you move in and you start finding bugs.

That’s pretty simple. If you haven’t had a problem, and you move into an apartment, and you start noticing the bites right away or within several weeks, and the bugs the in same amount of time, that means you’ve probably been moved into an infested apartment. In which case, of course, you would want to hold the landlord responsible for doing that to you by filing a lawsuit for negligence for the bed bug infestation.

If you’ve been living in an apartment and you start to find bed bugs in your apartment, you may have picked it up from public transportation, or a taxi, or a restaurant, or anywhere else you might be. But the chances are, the infestation has probably spread from an adjacent unit into your unit, which happens all the time.

Infestations Spreading from Apartment to Apartment

So again, the question is, “What can you do about it once you get bed bugs in an apartment?” The answer is, file a lawsuit for compensation against whoever was responsible for this infestation spreading and now tormenting you.

And of course, first, if the bed bugs spread from an adjacent unit, you would look to the landlord to say, “Okay, how long did you know about it in the adjacent unit?” So, were you put on notice?

Two, if the landlord was put on notice, what did you do about it? Did you ignore the complaints, or did you actually treat? And if you did treat, did you treat it the right way, or did you try to nickel and dime it, do some self treatment, or have an untrained maintenance guy spray some over the counter chemicals that weren’t effective?

Of course, if the landlord was negligent and did not treat it correctly and it spread to your unit, then we hold the landlord responsible.

home whitney 300x209 - How Did I Get Bed Bugs and Who Is Responsible?

Daniel W. Whitney, Sr. and Daniel W. Whitney, Jr. of Whitney, LLP

Lawyer for Bed Bug Bite Claims – Whitney, LLP

I hope this has been helpful to address the question of, “How could I have gotten bed bugs,” and more importantly what to do about it once you get them.

If you are interested in holding an apartment landlord responsible for bed bugs, or holding a hotel responsible for renting an infested room, call us for your Legal Consultation. We have experience helping consumers in a wide variety of bed bug cases.

We will review your claim and can discuss your options and how to recover potential compensation for being forced to deal with bed bugs.