Household pests come in many different varieties, but one of the most frustrating to deal with is bed bugs – they come from seemingly nowhere and can cause terror in your home. You may acquire them after spending time abroad or during an extended trip, or you may suffer the effects while staying in a lodge or hotel. No matter where you are, the creatures can make your life problematic. Fortunately, there are legal actions that you can take to lessen the monetary damages you sustain, most of which are dependent on the circumstances of your injuries. Our team of expert lawyers at the Bed Bug Legal Group has experience in many kinds of bed bug claims; we are specialists who have dedicated years to assisting victims of bed bugs and know the best way to secure settlements. If you are in need of a bed bug lawyer in San Bernardino / San Bernardino County / Fontana / Rancho Cucamonga, you have come to the right firm.
Reasons to File a Bed Bug Lawsuit
Of course, every bed bug lawsuit is filed because the bed bugs attacked you or were responsible for excessive loss of funds due to damaged property or the need for cleanup. Bites can cause you to rack up medical damages and the necessity of dealing with the problem before it worsens can cost you income at your job if you are forced to take days off. Regardless, the presence and effects of bed bugs raise questions about legality and options to take. With the help of a bed bug lawyer in San Bernardino / San Bernardino County / Fontana / Rancho Cucamonga, you can determine what kind of lawsuit you will file.
- Breach of Contract or Warranty: A breach of a contract or warranty means that there was an agreement at the time of signing, perhaps by purchasing new furniture or signing a rental agreement, that there would be no health violations or such problems present with the item or dwelling.
- Prior Health Code Violation: Landlords have a responsibility to their tenants; they must provide them with safe and healthy living quarters, and the presence of bed bugs can be made worse for a landlord if it is proven that he had a previous violation for the pests and did not adequately correct the issue.
- Negligence: A simple personal injury lawsuit can be filed if a property owner’s negligence contributed to your bed bug bites. He may not have done anything to correct the problem.
Negligence-based lawsuits are the most common ones that are filed, and in order to prove them as true, you must be able to show four points: that you were owed a duty of care, the duty of care was breached, the breach led to an incident of some kind, and the incident resulted in actual physical injuries. This is made easier with the assistance of a skilled lawyer.
How to Tell if the Infestation is Bed Bugs
If you are uncertain if your injuries are caused by bed bugs, you should take care to look for the pests. Many people confuse them with fleas, but while fleas are slightly larger and can jump great distances, bed bugs are small and round with flat bodies that can only crawl across surfaces. They can become engorged once they have had a meal of blood. Further, fleas tend to stick to animals, although they do bite humans from time to time; the creatures stay near animal beds and sleeping places, as well as on the animals themselves. Bed bugs, on the other hand, stay in their nests, which can be found in damp, dark crevices that are not easily discovered. Once nighttime comes around and their victims are sleeping, bed bugs emerge from their nests to feast on human blood.
Bed bugs can bite you and keep you from feeling anything – their saliva has anesthetic within it that makes bites impossible to detect; further, your blood will flow freely while the bed bug is feasting, as their saliva also has an anticoagulant that prevents the blood from clotting. Once they have had their fill, they move to another location, often in a zigzag way, and continue to eat. Once a bed bug has had a hefty meal, t does not need to eat again for weeks or months. This can come in handy because of how much downtime is spent not hunting the bugs; in fact, you may think it was an isolated incident that has passed. However, the bugs can also return, and they will get hungry eventually.
To locate the creatures, you should be looking for certain signs, which include:
- Small, cream colored, oval shaped eggs, usually bunched together, although not in abundance
- Skins that have been shed by juvenile bed bugs
- Droppings on the sheets, which are small black or brown mounds
- Bloodstains on the blanket or the sheets from feeding sessions
- A distinct musty or sweet odor
The bugs can be found in many locations, including underneath mattresses and within their creases, under sofa cushions and couch pillows, inside pillow cases, behind baseboards and molding, behind headboards, behind electrical outlets and photo frames, underneath drawers and cabinets, below loose carpeting, and more. It does not hurt to check every nook and cranny, especially if you are staying in an unfamiliar hotel. Checking for the creatures can save you a problem if you find them – you won’t have to suffer through the damages and search for them afterward.
For more help, contact a bed bug lawyer in San Bernardino / San Bernardino County / Fontana / Rancho Cucamonga.
Evidence for a Claim
As soon as you discover that you have been bitten by bed bugs, you should do all you can to acquire the necessary evidence to file a claim. You should take photos of the nests and the bugs to show that you were staying in an infested area or that your product was infested. You should also photograph your injuries to showcase that your wounds were present at the time of the incident. You also must ensure that you retain any receipts or documents to prove your involvement – for example, if you were at a hotel, you should hold on to the receipt and credit card statement showing payment in case the hotel manager claims you were not in the specific room.
In some cases, you may need to take extra steps. Hotel staff will routinely usher you out the room and place you elsewhere. They will clean the room you were in and offer an extended apology, as well as other types of compensation; if you accept these offers, you won’t be able to win a settlement for your damages, as the hotel will be able to say that the exchange was agreed upon and that you would not take further action. If you were in possession of a used piece of furniture, you should not throw it away; in fact, you should hold on to it for as long as possible to provide the necessary evidence to show that you purchased the item and it was infested. Returning or destroying the item will render your claim nearly useless, as you will not have the crucial piece of evidence needed to show that you were not lying.
Once you have acquired all of your evidence, you should contact a bed bug lawyer in San Bernardino / San Bernardino County / Fontana / Rancho Cucamonga to get started on your lawsuit. You only have a statute of limitations of two years from the date of the injury, so the sooner you take legal action, the better. An attorney can handle your claim while you go about returning to work and bringing your home back to normal.
Let Us Help
Our attorneys at the Bed Bug Legal Group are here to make sure that you receive the fairest settlement possible for your damages. We can help you recover medical expenses, damaged property costs, lost wages, emotional pain and suffering costs, and more. We will work to secure you the maximum compensation under the law, and our aggressive lawyers will even take your case all the way to court if necessary. We believe that all victims are entitled to adequate legal support, and we do not back down from any insurance agency.
Get in touch with our law group today to organize a free legal consultation with an experienced attorney. If you have questions about your lawsuit, we will answer them and tell you what we believe we can earn for you. We want you to be properly informed about the law regarding bed bug claims, as knowledge is power. Further, all of our legal consultations are completely confidential; none of your private details will be shared outside of our offices.
When you sign p for our legal services, you will also receive our zero fee guarantee, which promises that we will not accept any of your own personal funds for the case. Our lawyers will only get paid if we win your lawsuit, and the fees will be taken from the settlement we bring you. The responsible part will take care of your legal bills in addition to your different damages. In the event that we lose, you will not have to pay us anything at all, and we will absorb the case’s costs ourselves while you walk away scot free.
To speak with a professional bed bug lawyer in San Bernardino / San Bernardino County / Fontana / Rancho Cucamonga, contact the Bed Bug Legal Group.
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