Bed Bug Infestation and Renters’ Liability
Bed bugs are a nightmare for anyone who encounters them. These small insects nest in clothing, bedding, mattresses, sheets, and other items commonly found in homes, hotels, resorts, and rental properties. Bed bugs can easily travel through narrow spaces in homes, like air conditioning ducts and heating vents, and an infestation can lead to significant expense.
Although the bed bug population has dwindled significantly in recent decades, a resurgence in bed bug populations has brought bed bug infestations to light in the legal world.
Bed Bug Bites and Injuries
Bed bugs feed on blood, and therefore seek out blood wherever they can find it. Body heat and carbon dioxide from the breath attract bed bugs, typically to sleeping people. At night, bed bugs will painfully bite victims to find a blood vessel on which they may feed. Although there is no definite answer for whether or not bed bugs can transmit communicable diseases, their bites are very painful and an infestation can render a property uninhabitable until it is properly treated and the infestation destroyed.
Bed bugs are small in size, and a bite may not seem like a serious issue at first glance. However, bed bugs often bite in groups, and elderly individuals and young children are most susceptible to multiple painful bites. Ridding a property of bed bugs may entail throwing out infested mattresses, clothing, and other items that will require replacement. Suffering bites from a swarm of bloodsucking insects can also be a traumatic experience. When people suffer bed bug bites in rented spaces like hotel rooms, the question of liability for the damages arises.
Liability for Bed Bug Infestations
Hotels and property managers have a legal obligation to routinely inspect their properties for signs of bed bug infestation. Failing to complete these inspections, or failing to quickly and adequately respond to an infestation, can leave property managers, or hotel owners liable for injuries to their tenants and guests.
If a tenant suffers bed bug bites, he or she may attempt to sue the property owner for negligence. The property owner in turn may argue that the bed bugs originated elsewhere, or the tenant brought the bed bugs into the property when they took up residence. In most cases, property owners and renters will need to prove that they took reasonable precautions against bed bug infestations and verified that the property was free of bed bugs before renting.
When renters, hotel owners, or property managers are liable for bed bug injuries and damages in personal injury claims, injured claimants can secure compensation for their medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional anguish, and any damaged property. If the plaintiff had to pay to eliminate the infestation out of his or her own pocket, the plaintiff can sue for compensation for this as well. In most cases, plaintiffs can establish defendants’ liability for bed bug infestations through records of actual notice. For example, if there is a record that a previous tenant or guest reported a bed bug infestation in the space in question, then the plaintiff will have a much easier time proving that the defendant did not take adequate steps to correct the issue.