Bed Bug Attorney Utah – Salt Lake City – Ogden – Provo
Each year, traveling visitors and permanent residents alike traverse across Utah and are subjected to the problem of bed bugs. Our Utah bed bug lawyers have witnessed that bed bug infestations have increased in occurrence over the past few years, and major cities in Utah, like Salt Lake City, have become noticeably affected. As a result, medical costs have been accrued, and people have lost wages, suffered emotional trauma, and been forced to sell their belongings or relocate altogether. Our Utah bed bug attorneys are here to represent victims of bed bugs, no matter what the situation was in which the incident happened.
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are tiny insects that don’t grow to more than a few millimeters in length. They are fairly flat bodied, reddish-brown, and like to nest in dark, warm places; they select these places most often based on proximity to their victims of choice. Bed bugs are blood suckers, and they venture out from their nests, usually at nighttime, to feast on humans or other warm blooded animals. They are attracted to the heat our bodies give off while we sleep. They have an anesthetic substance in their bodies that prevents you from feeling the bites, and then proceed to suck the victim’s blood once the area is numb. They then grow to a few times their size after becoming engorged on blood and retreat back to their nests.
Common Locations of Bed Bugs
Bed bugs can be found in many areas, but in relation to people, they are usually seen in hotels, motels, apartment complexes, new and used furniture stores, dormitories, schools, and nursing homes. They spend time anywhere they can nest: behind headboards, in the seams of mattresses, behind curtains, and in couches.
Contrary to popular belief, bed bugs are not in and of themselves an indication of a dirty or low quality dwelling. One-star motels can be infested with bed bugs at equally the same rate as a five-star hotel; how much attention management pays to the issue is more telling. Managers at hotels who do not hire a thorough cleaning staff to change sheets and spray rooms are helping spread the problem of bed bugs. However, the reason that hotels and motels are most often viewed as the havens for bed bugs is simple: there is a large influx of visitors who may carry bed bugs with them from other locations. Bed bugs are very durable creatures and can be easily and unknowingly transported on luggage, clothing, and bags. When a hotel causes you to get bit because of their own negligence, our attorneys can sue the hotel or motel to get compensation for your damages.
If you yourself travel very often, you should always take care to meticulously investigate your temporary living quarters and all of your belongings to make sure there are no bed bugs. Alternatively, you may move into a location that has been previously furnished or improperly cleaned when the last tenants moved in. You should request a cleaning from your landlord. If he denies and you suffer an infestation, you likely have grounds to sue your landlord for bed bugs and related issues.
Taking Steps to File a Bed Bug Claim
If you wake up with red marks or spots on your body and feel an itching sensation, you have likely been targeted by bed bugs in your sleep. You should immediately investigate the bed and the room for any nests, which have telltale signs of bed bug infestation: there are white, shiny eggs on the surface; small, black eggs in the area; and shedded skin.
When you find the infestation, you should take photos or videos to document evidence that you found bed bugs. You should also record your injuries; the more evidence you have that bed bugs were present in your dwelling, the stronger your case against the company will be.
By no means should you alert hotel or motel management to the problem until after you have documented everything. A lot of people will instantly go to the operators of the building to complain, only to be ushered out of the room and offered another option for free. Even though it is a scary affair, you should keep in mind that the owners of the hotel likely do not want to go through a long lawsuit and most certainly do not want to pay for any damages that have arisen out of their negligence. If they clean the room before you have the chance to take any photos, you will not have ample evidence for your claim.
Further, if the hotel offers you any compensation in the form of a voucher, free nights, or reduced rates, do not accept anything if you plan on pursuing a lawsuit. It can be argued that you had already sought and accepted fair compensation for the incident if you accept such offers.
Additionally, take steps to file an incident report with the hotel, and request a copy. Any other information you can get from them will be useful for your case, including insurance information. When you want to sue a hotel for bed bugs, you want all the information you can get. You should also seek medical attention to make sure that none of your wounds become infected or that you have contracted no illnesses from being exposed to bed bugs.
Possible Gains from Filing a Claim
In filing a claim against a dwelling that had a bed bug infestation and caused you damages, you should be aware of what you can actually receive and what is reasonable.
If you suffer direct injuries as a result of bites from bed bugs, your compensation may be sizeable. Factors that determine this include the amount of bites present on your body, chances of scarring or permanent disfigurement to the skin, allergic reactions, the locations of the bites, and any psychological or mental stress that may accompany the incident.
Medical treatment following bed bug bites may be a burden on you or your family, and your claim can reflect that. When another organization’s negligence contributed to your medical costs, that organization should be expected to compensate you for its errors.
Additionally, there may be future problems that came from the bed bug situation. For example, if you suffered bites and unwittingly brought some home, your house may have subsequently become infested. This would force you to invest in fumigation and cleaning, as well as potentially force you to throw away your old furniture and purchase new belongings.
Undergoing an incident with bed bugs can have lasting effects that do not merely go away after one night in an infested location, and you should be fairly compensated for any extensive issues that keep popping up after the initial stay. Contact our law firm for a free consultation to find out if you can file a bed bug lawsuit and sue your landlord, the hotel, motel, or other responsible parties for your troubles.
In Need of Representation in Utah?
If you are in need of a bed bug lawyer in Utah, contact our law firm today. We want to make sure that your travels are safe, clean, and bed bug free, and we understand that you deserve to be paid for your injuries and damages if bed bugs have caused undue stress on your life. Our team will fight to make sure that you have no worries moving forward and that the responsible parties will pay.
All of our legal consultations are free when you contact us. We will discuss your case with you and formulate the best way to help you earn the money you deserve.
Contact us today, regardless of whether you need to sue for bed bugs or would merely like to have your questions answered by a bed bug attorney.