Gotta Sue Somebody
CNN article about a recent Manhattan lawsuit against bedbugs. Or, more accurately, against the hotel hosting bedbugs.
Thanks, Ridiculous!
Some tips for documenting your problem:
Any other tips would be highly welcomed.
---
UPDATE: I feel the need to clarify: I do not endorse frivolous lawsuits.
That said, landlords and management companies have an obligation to maintain liveability in the apartments that they lease. When they do not perform this responsibility, they leave themselves open to the tenant's last resort: legal action.
I do not offer personal legal advice on this website. If you feel you have a case, I suggest you find a lawyer for a consultation. However, that discretion is completely up to you. If you have questions regarding the purpose of this site, please refer to this post for more details.
Thanks, Ridiculous!
Some tips for documenting your problem:
- Photograph your bites daily - use good lighting for sharp, clear images; if possible, use a time and date stamp on your photo
- Capture and keep bedbug carcasses
- One person suggested taking the bedbug carcass along with you to a nearby hospital immediately after being bitten to get medical documentation that your bites are being caused by bedbugs
- Keep receipts of all drycleaning, laundry, exterminator, furniture replacement expenses
- It could also be helpful to keep a journal or diary of how bedbugs are affecting your day-to-day life. These things cause mental stress, which is also worth documenting.
Any other tips would be highly welcomed.
---
UPDATE: I feel the need to clarify: I do not endorse frivolous lawsuits.
That said, landlords and management companies have an obligation to maintain liveability in the apartments that they lease. When they do not perform this responsibility, they leave themselves open to the tenant's last resort: legal action.
I do not offer personal legal advice on this website. If you feel you have a case, I suggest you find a lawyer for a consultation. However, that discretion is completely up to you. If you have questions regarding the purpose of this site, please refer to this post for more details.
posted by Caitlin at 11:05 AM
21 Comments:
You should be ashamed of yourself writing and telling people to sue. Is that going to solve the problem or is that just going to make insurance premiums rise and run small business out of town. Try talking to your management company or exterminating company about the problem and I'm sure it will get resolved. Remember bedbugs aren't brought in by exterminators or your management company.
not that she can't defend herself, but i felt that i had to step in here.
i believe caitlin is advocating a lawsuit as a LAST resort if all other efforts have failed. if you read this blog, you will note that she has worked with her management and exterminating companies extensively in an attempt to solve her bedbug problem. a lawsuit would only make sense if those entities were not willing to take the steps which they are legally obligated to perform by the new york city department of health.
no-one here is talking about getting lawsuit happy...this blog is about offering solutions and options.
Absolutely, a lawsuit is a last resort. But having heard of some people who have been dealing with bedbugs for up to SIX YEARS with management taking ZERO steps to erradicate the problem, sometimes legal action is the only step left to take. While working with your management companies, it is a good idea to keep documentation along the way, just in case you are not lucky enough to get results after a reasonable amount of time.
At some point, you have to draw the line. You can't let people walk all over you, and sometimes moving isn't an option. All I'm advocating is keeping an eye out for yourself and keeping all your options open.
Thanks, though, for pointing out that random lawsuits are a bad idea. I happen to agree with you on that.
i agree lawsuits are not a go-to method. but i have a question for you annonymous....are you dealing or have you dealt with bedbugs?
I actually own a pest control business in the D.C. area and deal with these insects on a daily basis. I didn't read into the purpose of this site. (my bad) I do random searches to see whats out there and when I read the word lawsuit...well. With that being said I do hope that whoever is performing your service takes care of your needs. Bedbugs have made a comeback with a vengence. 6 years ago my business did 1 service call...now we do 14 a day. Sorry for jumping the gun and great site.
Anonymous...I would like to know more about your experience in DC. How could I find out if a hotel has really checked out a problem by calling an exterminator. I asked them if they would. That is all I'm asking right now besides refunding my stay and possibly helping with the costs of exterminating my place after coming home from there. I did not know what bed bugs were until I found a couple in my suitcase which was brand new. I got them from the hotel most definitely. I got 2 bites the first night and more the next and then more after I came home from there not knowing what had bitten in the first place; I must have brought them home! It's frightening. I haven't been able to sleep and slept in a tub of water for 2 nights because I've been so itchy from being bit all over. What should I do?? I'm a first year teacher and went to DC to interview for a higher paying job. I do NOT have money to pay to exterminate and the estimates have been $300-600 around here in Denver. I barely make enough to pay my monthly bills and pay towards student loans. Let me know what you have in mind!!
No real personal injury lawyer is going to take your case for a couple of bed bug bites. A $20M demand is a publicity grab. Landlords and hotels have a responsibility to provide clean, safe lodging. A wave of bed bug infestations is a nationwide problem. Search the web for hotel trade conference information to confirm this. Serious infestations and serious bed bug attacks can cause serious problems, and are the responsibility of the property owners and landlords (of which I am one).
I also have been privvy to learn of some of the more serious cases of bed bugs bites. Let's say (hypothetically) that you took your family to a reputable resort, and you put your handicapped toddler on a cot provided by the hotel. In the morning light, you find your child was crying all night not because of his indigestion, but because he has been bitten over a hundred times by bed bugs. He has to be taken to the emergency room for treatment, and then several subsequent visits to your pediatrician. You don't have health insurance and your costs run into the thousands of dollars. Your child cannot sleep without nightmares and is scarred all over his face from the bites. You find out the resort has known about the problem for a year and done nothing about it, and only offers you a free stay on your next visit. Your pediatrician is outraged and suggests you contact a reputable attorney to investigate a claim.
What would you do?
nice blog.
question to caitlin with the pest control business. Ok, so what is the best chemical to use for this type of bug? It is one of the worst bug to get rid of. Homes might need 2-3 treatments before its rid of bedbugs, for 4 months at least. Then it becomes a problem again. I am apartment management, and I talk to alot of vendors about this issue, and seems like they have the same no solution answer. I want to get RID of these bugs once and for all, forever. Thinking about lawsuits, It's not even gonna solve the problem. Moving out, 90% chance you carry them to your next home. I'm stuck, I don't know any other option for this one tiny bedbug. So, remember the saying, "Don't let the bedbugs bite". That is true, problem is, you can't stop them, and they do bite. Now, I'm itching pretty bad.
I think, bedbugs situation gets blown out of proportion by the internet. Now, that I have experience this pest in my own home, I am disgusted, itchy and I need a solution.
Help!
My landlord in NYC recently decided to "upgrade" the plumbing and electrical in my building. The left many holes in the walls and IMMEDIATELY following such demolition, I noticed not only roaches everywhere, but I have been bitten by bedbugs. My ankles, legs and arms have welts and bites everywhere. I have contacted my landlord without any success. They have since neglected to provide me with an exterminator AND to cover the holes they made in my apartment. I really think that at this point, my only recourse is to pursue legal action. Believe me, if I had my choice between not having to suffer and have sleepless nights over these nasty critters, versus a "frivolous" lawsuit, I would pick a pest-free environment. Someone has to be held liable for the misery this situation has caused me. I would never wish this situation on my worst enemy.
How can you expect someone who rents and have children and huge expenses to bear the reponisibility that belongs to the owner of the housing?? And if the owner ignores the issue you have every right to be compensated for the huge expenses expected as a result of these disgusting creatures!
i own property in nyc, i think it's non-sense that the landlord should be responsible for bugs in the apartment. Did I rent the apartment with the bugs in it? Did come with bugs in a box for you. Personally i have my buildings exterminated monthly because i care about my tenants and my property, however when i go to a tenants apartmant and the place is loaded up with pizza boxes, KFC boxes and bones the place is an absolute pig sty and then they complain about roaches and mice. Now i should pay good money for an exterminator while you make your apartment thanksgiving for rodents everyday. But lets call the morons at HPD and have them give the landlord a violation. I call them morons because they write the violation and observe the condition the tenant has made the apartment in. NON SENSE>
I do believe in lawsuits. I have been dealing with mice and bedbug infestation for months now. Its to the point that I have to visit my doctor everyother week because I have now developed an allergic reaction to these bedbugs. My arms, shoulders, legs, and my FOREHEAD now has scars from these bites. Not only do I live in a 3 family home, all floors are infested. The only furniture I have at my house is a kitchen table and four chairs. Everything else I had to throw out. My landlord only took action because we reported her to the Board of Health and she hired an exterminating company who supposedly fumigated the place but the bedbugs and mice are still roaming around. I don't live at this apartment for free, I pay rent and keep up with the apartment to make sure its clean and in good condition. Its only fair that landlords who don't give a shit to their tenants, who only want their money pay for some of our pain and suffering, sleepless nights and all the scars we now have on our bodies that won't go away.
I moved into an apartment building and was attacked by bedbegs. I was covered from head to toe in bug bites for 3 months without knowing what it was. Once we figured it out, the complex sent out an exterminator 3 times and was unable to rid us of the infestation, so we broke our lease and were forced to throw away all of our upholstered furniture. The bills that were accrued from this complete nightmare were over $3000 and then the complex is trying to charge me for breaking the lease. I am suing them.
I just moved into a new house 3 days ago. The second day I noticed all these bites everywhere on my body. Now I actually found these bed bugs crawling around the frames of the doors. The landlord claims he isnt responsible for these bugs and dont know what they are. I told him if the bigs dont go away after treatment Im outta here and will leave all the funiture here.
i few words to say..we can sue a landlord or the management.you cannot do that if your's is the only aprtment having the problem.if there 10 diffrent cases on the property and you are not informed when the outbreak happened and when they ask you to pay money for lease violation because you have to move and damages because they have to strip down the apartment is not the right way. if the tenents are warned before hand and take precautions when the first out break happend then its good management.in our cause the management are defending themselves by saying that we brought them from our country.which is quite not possible to be the truth with all the cases.so if this is the attitude of the owner you can sue them as a lost resort so that it will wakeup others who are reckless
The last person who commented on this blogpost is in the same situation as we are. we have bedbug infestations in atleast 6 apartments(people I know) in my apartment bulding out of which 3 on my floor, one of them my immediate neighbour. Now I need advice on this one. when in the course of last few months apartment after apartment was getting infestations, why were we not informed to take some precautions and protect ourselved. Our furniture , our clothes . we could have atleast sealest our mattress , upholstery and clothes ... now we have to discard everything ... though the management has done 3 treatments and bugs have reduced. i have faced health problems(i have allergy specialist's medical certificate of my allergies), and paid for dry cleaning of all my clothes..
If anyone can suggest me what I can do .. I want to end this lease and not pay the fine. if possible get compensation. Any suggestions welcome.
thanks
My tenants are from hell, they seem to GROW this bugs, I have paid over two thousand dollars in exterminator fees and they all agree unless she washes her clothes, vacuums the rugs and cleans the pig sty she sleeps in I will not get rid of the bugs, it is as if she WANTS this bugs there so that she can keep paying rent extremely late (If ever), This is not fair, I work three jobs to keep paying my mortgage and this monster is winning the battle.
only one who has experienced any kind of infestation can understand the last resort of a suit is a great decision I too have suffered and still is going through neglectful landlords/rent office care of bedbugs inturn i had to discard furniture I eventually paid an exterminator myself to come beneficially for me accompanied by a 3 mth warranty others in my apt building have this issue so many have moved out as a solution I will bring my bill for new furniture as well as extermination bill to them and if I get the run around like I have in the past I will consult a lawyer I have my pics as well a documentation of conversations at this point all means have been exhausted. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but we can trade living quarters for 1 mth and I would love to know what your experience was
dealing with bed bugs is a new and ususal thing for me....i will protest every single word from some mouth that says we are dirty.....lawsuits...absoultly...we moved here in a car..bought --or rented---only the couch and loveseat---brand new?>> well this is a new feartue to us..and if you want to get into the effects of these little buggers....i can show you pics of the blood stains that gush--burst out of them
Bed bugs in Dever are a huge problem right now. My management company will spray my unit but not the common hall ways or laundry room. So......Do move to Villa La Salle apartments in Lakewood, CO
First of all..to all of you who have not had a problem with bed bugs yourself, in your own home I dont think that you have the right to judge. I recently got a bed from a rent a center in my area and it was full of bed bugs.I contacted the rent a center and they tried everything in the word to say it was my fault and even their delivery guys said it was theirs. My childeren slept in that bed and got ate up by them. You can call an extermanter but they will have to come back a bunch of times because they can not kill the egg its self. So the way I see it, if rent a center would have check the producy like they were supposed to then we wouldnt have this problem. So I sue them for the fact that my daughter is afraid to sleep in her own room.
Post a Comment
<< Home