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Are Bed Bug Bites A Serious Concern?

Anybody who spends a night in a hotel or resort in Florida is potentially at risk of being bitten by bed bugs. These insects can be found in any place where human beings sleep. Contrary to popular belief, the presence of bed bugs is not a matter of poor hygiene, but competent housekeeping. Even the best-kept five star hotels can have bed bugs. If you were bitten by bed bugs, bed bug  bites may present a serious health concern.

Do Bed Bugs Spread Disease?

Although bed bugs are parasites that feed on human blood, according to the CDC, they are not known to be direct spreaders of disease in their own right. They can cause annoyance as their bites lead to itching and loss of sleep. The potential for medical problems arises when people scratch their bites excessively. This can lead to bleeding and create wounds that increase the chance of secondary infection. Those with darker skin complexion may experience disfigurement through keloid scarring.

What Are The Health Risks Of Bed Bugs?

Although different people experience different effects from bed bug bites, the most common signs are small bite marks. Generally, bed bugs are not considered dangerous. The main threats they pose come from allergic reactions, the possibility of secondary infections or scarring. Since bed bugs are small and often hide in dark locations until they come out to feed, bed bugs may also pose a risk of infestation at your final destination if they remain undetected in clothing and luggage..

Who Is At Risk For Bed Bug Bites?

The truth is that almost everyone is at risk of bed bug bites. Any time you sleep in a hotel room or any other space in which other people have slept before you, there is some chance that you will be bitten and possibly spread the infestation to another location yourself. Once again, bed bugs do not indicate that you are sleeping in low-quality accommodation. These parasites can take up residence in any sleeping quarters, from homeless shelters to hotel suites that cost thousands of dollars a night. Hotels have a burden of care to their clients to maintain clean and habitable sleeping quarters. That includes taking proactive measures to prevent bed bugs. You probably will not experience an infestation, but the more you travel and the more time you spend in hotels and rented or shared accommodations, the greater your chances of being bitten will be.  

How Can Beregovich Law Firm Help You

If you do experience bed bugs, the management of the hotel has an obligation to make amends for the problem. They should acknowledge the infestation, offer alternative accommodation, and take every reasonable measure to resolve the issue. Be sure to keep records of all communication with them, and consult a doctor to confirm whether you have indeed been bitten by bed bugs. If the establishment fails to offer assistance and compensation, you have a right to take legal action

The Beregovich Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, and Orlando, FL. We have recovered millions in damages in many types of personal injury cases, including bed bug bites. If you have experienced bed bugs in a hotel in Florida, book a consultation and speak to one of our bed bug lawyers.

Bitten By Bed Bugs During A Stay At A Florida Hotel?

Have you recently spent a night in a Florida hotel and experienced a bed bug infestation? This is not only an unpleasant experience; it can cause damage to property, as well as personal injury and disease. It is also something that hotel managers have a responsibility to prevent through proactive means. They have a burden of care to provide safe, clean, sanitary accommodations for their guests. Since bed bugs can take up residence anywhere, preventing an infestation is not a simple matter of keeping rooms clean. Hotels need to take active steps to inspect for bed bugs and root them out. If you are bitten by bed bugs, it means that your hosts have not taken the necessary care. If the hotel does not admit its mistake and offers you compensation, you should speak to a bed bug lawyer and take legal action.

What To Do If You Have Been Bitten By Bed Bugs In A Florida Hotel

As soon as you notice the presence of bed bugs, you should notify hotel management immediately. Before you do so, take photos of every sign you can find of bed bugs – bites, signs of nesting in bedding, clothing, furniture, etc., and the bugs themselves if you can find them. The hotel should offer you an immediate change in accommodation if you are staying for multiple nights, as well as compensation for any damages. Give them the benefit of the doubt and allow them to make up for the situation. The hotel needs to issue a written report after inspecting your room in response to your complaint. Make sure you get a copy of that report. 

If the hotel does not cooperate and offer to make amends, take all your photos, as well as the hotel’s report and a medical report, to a bed bug lawyer, who will help you build a case to take legal action against the hotel. You are entitled to sue for damages under these circumstances, and a personal injury lawyer will help you do that.

The Beregovich Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, and Orlando, FL. We have recovered millions in damages across a multitude of personal injury cases, including bed bug bites. If you have had one of these unpleasant experiences as a hotel guest, book a consultation and speak to one of our bed bug lawyers.

When do You need to Hire a Bed Bug Lawyer

Bed bugs can be found even in the most prestigious and best-kept accommodation. Guests in hotels may experience property loss, bites, and even illness as a result of these pests. If you have suffered any of these personal injuries or losses, you should speak to a bed bug lawyer to learn your rights. 

Bed bug infestations can quickly get out of control, as the parasites can remain dormant for long periods, and can also easily travel from one hotel room to adjoining ones. It is therefore important that hotel managers take proactive steps to avert an infestation. If they do not, they may be liable for any damages their guests may suffer as a result. If they fail to take corrective or compensatory action when guests are affected by bed bugs, they can and should most definitely face legal action.

How To Know If You Have a Case

If you stay at a hotel, motel, or bed-and-breakfast and you feel bed bug bites, or discover them on your body, or have any other reason to believe that you have spent time in a bed bug-infested room, the first thing you need to do is inspect the room as thoroughly as possible. Take pictures of everything that might serve as evidence, including your bites, or any signs of nests in the bedding, mattress, corners and crevices. Depending on the content of these pictures, you may have a case. 

Proving liability once you have your evidence is a matter that is best left to a personal injury attorney. If the hotel management knew about the bed bug infestation, or if they failed to take action once you reported it, they could be liable for their negligence. A bed bug lawyer’s discovery process will help to place liability where it belongs.

The Beregovich Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, and Orlando, FL. We have recovered millions in damages across a multitude of personal injury cases, including bed bug bites. If you have experienced bed bugs in a hotel in Florida, book a consultation and speak to one of our bed bug lawyers.

Guest’s Rights When Dealing with Bed Bugs in a Hotel

Landlords and hotel owners have a responsibility to provide clean, habitable accommodations for their visitors. That includes ensuring that the premises are always reasonably free of vermin such as bedbugs. Unfortunately, bed bugs can take up residence in even the finest hotel rooms – it is estimated that roughly 60 percent of the world’s hotel rooms are infested with bed bugs at any given time. However, it remains the hotel management’s responsibility to eliminate them if they do. Here is what you need to know about your rights as a guest if you should ever encounter bed bugs in your Florida hotel accommodation. You may need to seek the help of a bed bug lawyer if your host is not willing to cooperate.

Steps To Take When Dealing With Bed Bugs In A Hotel

Guests in hotel rooms that are infested with bed bugs have a right to hold hotel owners responsible. Hotel owners have an obligation to provide clean, habitable rooms for their guests. 

If you notice bites or other signs that might indicate the presence of bed bugs in your business or vacation accommodation, your first step is to report the problem to the management. Do it as soon as you can after discovering the infestation, and be sure to include proof, such as photographs of bites, signs of bed bug nests in bedding and other furniture – and of the bugs themselves, of course.

Give the hotel the benefit of the doubt at first. They may offer you alternative accommodation or even a refund. Even if the report goes favorably, remember to save all correspondence just in case you need it later. In the event that the management is unresponsive or uncooperative, you should then consider taking legal action. If you have filed a case and your host still won’t do the right thing, it is time to speak to a bedbug lawyer. 

If you have been bitten, it is vital that you visit a healthcare practitioner as soon as possible. If they confirm that your bites are the result of bed bugs, their report will be vital to your case. You may want to take legal action and pursue a personal injury case. It will not be possible for you to do so unless you have evidence of the bites. Such evidence should include a report from your healthcare practitioner, as well as photographs of the bites.

Before taking any of these actions, it is best to consult with a personal injury lawyer who has experience with bed bug cases. 

The Beregovich Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, and Orlando, FL. We have recovered millions in damages across a multitude of personal injury cases, including bed bug bites. If you have had one of these unpleasant experiences as a hotel guest, book a consultation and speak to one of our bed bug lawyers.

What Should You Do if You Have Been Bitten by Bed Bugs at a Florida Hotel?

It is a fairly common vacation horror story: you check into a hotel and lie back to get a good night’s rest, trusting that the establishment, for whose hospitality you are paying, has gone to all necessary lengths to ensure that their rooms are in a fit, clean and healthy state. The following morning, you find those tell-tale little red bumps and unbearable itching. The bed you have just slept in is infested with bed bugs. You may want to call a bed bug lawyer – and you have every right to do so.

Most people think bed bug infestations are associated with poor hygiene or maintenance. Actually, bed bugs can thrive even in facilities that are very well looked after and have high standards of housekeeping. Hotels can’t keep bed bugs at bay with great housekeeping alone – they need to screen rooms specifically for bedbugs and eradicate them if they find them. If there are bed bugs in their rooms, it means that management has fallen short on its obligation to make their accommodation safe and clean for their guests. Under Florida law, hotels can be held liable for any injuries or inconvenience suffered by a hotel guest who has been bitten by bed bugs, as they have failed in their duty of care. Guests can and should seek the help of a personal injury lawyer and demand compensation from the hotel’s owners.

Steps To Take When Bitten By Bed Bugs At A Florida Hotel

When you see signs of bed bug activity, especially bites on your skin, you need to take the following steps:

  • Take pictures and videos of your room. Get as many images as you can of the entire room. Check the mattress (including the underside) for signs of the bugs or their nests, and look for any dust you may see on the bedding, carpeting, chairs or sofas. Document everything you can – there may be signs of infestation that you don’t even recognize as such, but that an expert will spot right away.
  • Take pictures of your bites. Next, make sure to get photos of all your bites as they manifest.
  • Notify the hotel. Tell the staff and management at the hotel about your possible bed bug experience. They should send someone to check the room and then write a report – make sure you get a copy of that document.
  • Visit a doctor. Go to a medical practitioner as soon as possible and have them examine the bites. Get a copy of their diagnosis and prescription. You will need all these medical records to support your claim.
  • Contact the county health department and file a report. The county health inspector should also be informed of the incident and the possibility of an infestation. Once again, be sure to get a copy of any report that results from the department’s investigation.
  • Speak to a Florida bed bug attorney. With your documents in hand, book a consultation with a personal injury attorney who has knowledge of bed bug cases. Your lawyer will assess your documents to see if you have a good case, and then help you build your case and file your complaint.

The Beregovich Law Firm is a personal injury law firm with offices in Miami, and Orlando, FL. We have recovered millions in damages across a multitude of personal injury cases, including bed bug bites. If you have had one of these unpleasant experiences at a Florida hotel, book a consultation and speak to one of our bed bug lawyers.