Legal advise regarding bed bugs UPDATE POST #52

[dispor]

Okay, so I don't even know for sure yet if it is a bedbug... I am taking it to the pest company on Monday.

Anyway... We stayed at two different hotels on vacation and then a few days in a cabin (in KY and TN), so I don't know exactly where we MAY have picked them up. My GUESS is that it may have been at a hotel that we stayed at using points. Maybe they put us in a room they knew was infested because we weren't paying for it...?

My question is - how can I find out for sure if it was this hotel? I know if I call the hotel they will say they inspected the room and found no evidence of bedbugs.

Can I hire someone to go and look? (Yes, I am serious.)

I am so hoping that this bug is NOT a bedbug, but I have a terrible fear that it is, and I am freaking out about it.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Okay, so I don't even know for sure yet if it is a bedbug... I am taking it to the pest company on Monday.

Anyway... We stayed at two different hotels on vacation and then a few days in a cabin (in KY and TN), so I don't know exactly where we MAY have picked them up. My GUESS is that it may have been at a hotel that we stayed at using points. Maybe they put us in a room they knew was infested because we weren't paying for it...?

My question is - how can I find out for sure if it was this hotel? I know if I call the hotel they will say they inspected the room and found no evidence of bedbugs.

Can I hire someone to go and look? (Yes, I am serious.)

I am so hoping that this bug is NOT a bedbug, but I have a terrible fear that it is, and I am freaking out about it.

Any help is appreciated.

I'm not a lawyer so I'm just going by what I think.

First, saying the hotel might have knowingly put you in a room with bed bugs because you were staying on points is a stretch. I really doubt any hotel would do that on purpose. If they knew the room was infested, it would be in their best interest to get rid of them before putting anyone else in the room. If any of the hotels you stayed in did have bed bugs, they probably didn't know about it. They're usually brought in by other guests in their luggage. The housekeepers change the sheets between guests, but they don't normally look in the crevices of every mattress for bugs.

Second, I don't know who you would hire to go and look for bedbugs in a hotel room. If you send a pest control company, the hotel doesn't have to give them access to the room you stayed in. If you have a legal order to have the room inspected then that's different. But for that, you'd have to get a judge to grant one.

I think your best bet is to figure out what kind of bug you found. Then ask your pest control company how to get rid of them. You'll probably need to clean out your luggage and check for them in your own beds. In terms of finding out where they came from and taking legal action, I just don't think it will be possible or a good use of your time and money.

 

[Carnie]

Legal advice? Like what? Are you planning to sue? For what?

I can't imagine that proving you "got" bedbugs someplace is particularly easy.


What are you planning to gain? Big money?

 

[dahirsh]

No reputable hotel is going to put a guest in a room they know is infested whether they paid for the room or not.

Bed bugs are not an indication of cleanliness. Unfortunately they show up in all quality of hotels across all price points. And chances are if you reported it to the hotel, after a professional inspection they would not only admit it, but try to compensate you for the inconvenience. But threatening legal actioon from the start is really not the way to go.

 

[Tinkermommy]

So let me see if I understand.

You went on a trip stayed in 2 different hotels then a cabin (presumably in/near the woods). You found a bug and now you are wondering if it's a bedbug and if so if you can prove its one of those hotels?

Did you incur any damages (someone got sick/had to go to hospital)? If not, you are just making work for yourself.

If you are in a cabin near nature, there are lots of different kind of bugs.

If the cabin trip was before the hotel stays, then it could have had a ride in your luggage.

If the cabin stay was after, I think you will have a hard time proving it unless there is a pest control problem where multiple people have complained.

So, when/where did you find the bug? And did anything happen because of the bug?

 

[allison443]

Okay, so I don't even know for sure yet if it is a bedbug... I am taking it to the pest company on Monday.

Anyway... We stayed at two different hotels on vacation and then a few days in a cabin (in KY and TN), so I don't know exactly where we MAY have picked them up. My GUESS is that it may have been at a hotel that we stayed at using points. Maybe they put us in a room they knew was infested because we weren't paying for it...?

My question is - how can I find out for sure if it was this hotel? I know if I call the hotel they will say they inspected the room and found no evidence of bedbugs.

Can I hire someone to go and look? (Yes, I am serious.)

I am so hoping that this bug is NOT a bedbug, but I have a terrible fear that it is, and I am freaking out about it.

Any help is appreciated.

Did you just find the one bug, or more than one?

As for your lawsuit, suits have to be based on evidence, not guesses. Even if someone went back next week and found a bedbug at one of the hotels, that isn't proof that the bedbug you found at your house was from that hotel.

I don't know what state you are in, but quite often you have to sue in the jurisdiction/state where the defendant is located. This may be different if it is a chain hotel.

What are your damages?

 

[OceanAnnie]

Okay. I'll admit it. I would freak out if I found what I thought was bed bugs. I hope it's something else for your sake. I guess working backward would be the best thing. Have you or any family members had any bites or sores? Hope not. It would probably be a good sign if no one has been bitten. When did you first notice them (or it)? Where did you find them? Have you had any luck finding pictures of what one looks like on the internet?

I have read it can be costly and time consuming to get rid of them. I do understand your concern.

Good luck with it. Keep us posted.

 

[dispor]

So let me see if I understand.

You went on a trip stayed in 2 different hotels then a cabin (presumably in/near the woods). You found a bug and now you are wondering if it's a bedbug and if so if you can prove its one of those hotels?

Did you incur any damages (someone got sick/had to go to hospital)? If not, you are just making work for yourself.

If you are in a cabin near nature, there are lots of different kind of bugs.

If the cabin trip was before the hotel stays, then it could have had a ride in your luggage.

If the cabin stay was after, I think you will have a hard time proving it unless there is a pest control problem where multiple people have complained.

So, when/where did you find the bug? And did anything happen because of the bug?

We stayed in two different hotels on the way down (one night in each) and then in a cabin for 4 days. The bites showed up on the second or third day in the cabin. We assumed they were mosquito bites or some other kind of bug bite. Yes, we DID spend time outdoors! However, my husband and my one daughter had bites that were sets of three, which I know is sometimes characteristic of a bed bug bite. They did NOT become welts like what you see when you look up pictures of bed bug bites. No one became sick (I don't think bed bugs can spread any kind of sickness). The bites have stopped itching.

I contacted the cabin owner (a private owner) and she had her housekeeper and pest company check and they found no evidence of bed bugs. I had assumed that IF they were bed bugs, we had gotten them in the cabin since 1) that is when the bites showed up and 2) that is where we spent most of our vacation. However, after reading up on them (probably a big mistake - ugh) I learned that the bites can actually show up days later, so now I realize that we may have gotten them (if it even IS a bed bug) from one of the hotels.

Then I started replaying the hotels in my mind, and I remember that there was an "odd" smell to the one room. Not terribly offensive, just "odd." I have read (after the fact) that a severely infested room can have a "sweet, musky odor" and that is sort of what it could have been described as.

Long story short, I'm not looking to "make money" off of this. If it does turn out to be bed bugs, I am facing a VERY difficult and EXPENSIVE job of TRYING to get them eliminated. (PLEASE read up on bed bugs if you think I am blowing this out of proportion.)

BTW, the bug I captured was crawling on my daughter's arm as she was sitting in the van - the same van we took on vacation.

I would like to say that I trust the hotel(s) to do the right thing, but I would really like to have a "third party" look at the room(s) we stayed in - in case the hotel is not honest with us. (BTW, both hotels were national chains.)

No one is hoping more than *I* am that this is NOT a bed bug, and that I freaking out over nothing.

 

[sunnyday123]

We stayed in two different hotels on the way down (one night in each) and then in a cabin for 4 days. The bites showed up on the second or third day in the cabin. We assumed they were mosquito bites or some other kind of bug bite. Yes, we DID spend time outdoors! However, my husband and my one daughter had bites that were sets of three, which I know is sometimes characteristic of a bed bug bite. They did NOT become welts like what you see when you look up pictures of bed bug bites. No one became sick (I don't think bed bugs can spread any kind of sickness). The bites have stopped itching.

I contacted the cabin owner (a private owner) and she had her housekeeper and pest company check and they found no evidence of bed bugs. I had assumed that IF they were bed bugs, we had gotten them in the cabin since 1) that is when the bites showed up and 2) that is where we spent most of our vacation. However, after reading up on them (probably a big mistake - ugh) I learned that the bites can actually show up days later, so now I realize that we may have gotten them (if it even IS a bed bug) from one of the hotels.

Then I started replaying the hotels in my mind, and I remember that there was an "odd" smell to the one room. Not terribly offensive, just "odd." I have read (after the fact) that a severely infested room can have a "sweet, musky odor" and that is sort of what it could have been described as.

Long story short, I'm not looking to "make money" off of this. If it does turn out to be bed bugs, I am facing a VERY difficult and EXPENSIVE job of TRYING to get them eliminated. (PLEASE read up on bed bugs if you think I am blowing this out of proportion.)

BTW, the bug I captured was crawling on my daughter's arm as she was sitting in the van - the same van we took on vacation.

I would like to say that I trust the hotel(s) to do the right thing, but I would really like to have a "third party" look at the room(s) we stayed in - in case the hotel is not honest with us. (BTW, both hotels were national chains.)

No one is hoping more than *I* am that this is NOT a bed bug, and that I freaking out over nothing.

I think you're wasting time on trying to figure out where you got the bedbugs. And even if you do, you really think that particular hotel is going to pay to have them removed from your home?

I think this ranks up there with sueing McDonalds for hot coffee.

 

[dispor]

Did you just find the one bug, or more than one?

As for your lawsuit, suits have to be based on evidence, not guesses. Even if someone went back next week and found a bedbug at one of the hotels, that isn't proof that the bedbug you found at your house was from that hotel.

I don't know what state you are in, but quite often you have to sue in the jurisdiction/state where the defendant is located. This may be different if it is a chain hotel.

What are your damages?

Just the one bug, although we have found black "spots" on the van seats. (Black spots can be a sign of bed bugs - feces.)

I don't have any "damages" until I find out if it is a bed bug AND I can prove where it came from. Then, it would be the cost of the extermination for the van and house.

Still hoping that someone out there can tell me if I can hire someone to check out the room...

 

[dispor]

Okay. I'll admit it. I would freak out if I found what I thought was bed bugs. I hope it's something else for your sake. I guess working backward would be the best thing. Have you or any family members had any bites or sores? Hope not. It would probably be a good sign if no one has been bitten. When did you first notice them (or it)? Where did you find them? Have you had any luck finding pictures of what one looks like on the internet?

I have read it can be costly and time consuming to get rid of them. I do understand your concern.

Good luck with it. Keep us posted.

Thank you for understanding.

 

[dispor]

I meant to ask this in my original post...

Would the Health Department be able to do anything if I contacted them?

 

[OceanAnnie]

Thank you for understanding.

You're welcome. I'm hoping for you.

I was curious and found a good website you might not have seen:

http://www.medicinenet.com/bed_bugs_pictures_slideshow/article.htm

Did the bug you found look anything like the pictures you have seen (or the one on this website)? Was it super small?

 

[dahirsh]

Still hoping that someone out there can tell me if I can hire someone to check out the room...

the hotel is highly unlikely to allow you or your representative access to the room so you can "inspect" They may be willing to provide you with a copy of the inspection report they receive from their pest control company, but un;ess you rent a room and request the only you want access to, don't expect to get back in.

 

[dclfun]

My daughter and her husband brought home bedbugs from their trip to Spain- they are becoming more prevalent, and as another poster mentioned, they are not limited to dirty, cheap motels. Upscale places have them too. If you had reported them during your trip, the hotel should have moved you to a new room, offered to clean your clothing, and provided you with new luggage. Other than that, no they are not obligated legally to fumigate your home if they came home with you as a souvenir.---Kathy

 

[Imzadi]

The bedbugs may not have come from the room. You can track begbugs from other places. They may have stuck to your luggage or something else you placed in the van, since that is where you found the alleged feces.

I was about to take an advanced martial arts training. Then I happened to be watching the news and find that the college where the sessions would be, was going to be closed down for many complaints of bedbug infestation. The college is ALL academic buildings, no dorms. My classes would be down in the basement, and we would be rolling around on mats, which I'm sure got folded up when not in use. (A place for bedbugs to hide.) Since I wasn't sure if the exterminators would be thorough in spraying very well down in the basement, there was no way I was taking the course after that!

Oh, and the college where bedbugs were found? John Jay College Of Criminal Justice. How's that for legal irony.


Not a lawyer, but, I would think you would have to prove negligence or deliberate intention to harm, on the part of the hotel, in order to have any type of case. Did you inform them that you might have gotten bedbugs there, so they had a chance to remedy the situation?

 

[OceanAnnie]

I could be wrong, but I think the best route to finding out if one of the hotels or the cabin had an infestation is to contact the state's Health Department and file a complaint. They would have to follow up with an inspection. (I'm sure you will confirm the bug you found is a bed bug first.)

If the Health Dept. for the state (whichever state) finds there is an infestation in the room you occupied, then you could technically file a claim. I don't know what that would cover, but you would have proof.

 

[teacup princess]

My SIL brought home bedbugs from a very upscale resort a couple of years ago. She did not sue the hotel but they were nice enough to pay her extermination costs for a year to get rid of them. They only stayed at one hotel, not a number of them, and the hotel confirmed the bugs after she spoke with a manager. I'd say you have a hard time getting anywhere if the hotel has a negative inspection report. It probably also depends on the manager's willingness to work with you.

Good luck, I know it was a time consuming process to get rid of them.

 

[Mickey's Minion]

Okay, so I don't even know for sure yet if it is a bedbug... I am taking it to the pest company on Monday.

Anyway... We stayed at two different hotels on vacation and then a few days in a cabin (in KY and TN), so I don't know exactly where we MAY have picked them up. My GUESS is that it may have been at a hotel that we stayed at using points. Maybe they put us in a room they knew was infested because we weren't paying for it...?

My question is - how can I find out for sure if it was this hotel? I know if I call the hotel they will say they inspected the room and found no evidence of bedbugs.

Can I hire someone to go and look? (Yes, I am serious.)

I am so hoping that this bug is NOT a bedbug, but I have a terrible fear that it is, and I am freaking out about it.

Any help is appreciated.

While anything is possible, the likelihood of any success is slim to none.

First of all, as everyone else has posted, hotels would laugh at somebody who walked into the lobby and asked for a key to the room to inspect for bugs.

They are not obligated to provide access to the room.

Secondly, even if you do go back to the hotel, manage to reserve the same room, and find a whole nest of bed bugs, it would be virtually impossible to prove that your particular bed bug, found in your car so long after you stayed in the hotel, is from that particular room. Too much time has passed and you have stayed in too many places since.

The hotel could conceivably counter that since it has been so long since the claim and you had the bug in your car, you were the one who brought the current infestation into the hotel.

I would apply the money that you would have spent on a private investigator to just go ahead and fumigate your car.

As for the health inspector, I think you would need more proof than 1 bug after you had been to several motels and out in a cabin in the woods for them to go inspect the hotel. They will probably just file your report and if there are further complaints, then they may go investigate. Although it is definitely worth calling to see if there are any other complaints.

 

[quentina]

Okay, so I don't even know for sure yet if it is a bedbug... I am taking it to the pest company on Monday.

Anyway... We stayed at two different hotels on vacation and then a few days in a cabin (in KY and TN), so I don't know exactly where we MAY have picked them up. My GUESS is that it may have been at a hotel that we stayed at using points. Maybe they put us in a room they knew was infested because we weren't paying for it...?

My question is - how can I find out for sure if it was this hotel? I know if I call the hotel they will say they inspected the room and found no evidence of bedbugs.

Can I hire someone to go and look? (Yes, I am serious.)

I am so hoping that this bug is NOT a bedbug, but I have a terrible fear that it is, and I am freaking out about it.

Any help is appreciated.

I did have the pleasure of staying in a hotel with bed bugs (on Neward airport...yuck). Anyway, my little guy moved around all night and kept us up...we didn't know he was being bit. I discovered it in the morning when I looked at the sheets and there was blood. Apparantly, these small bugs bleed quite a bit when they die (I imagine he was squishing them).

I ended up with the rash however; never felt anything bite me. I had to go to the walk in center twice on vacation....just once, I want to skip this place LOL.

So....my question is....do you recall any blood on the sheets?