Bed bugs can create quite a nuisance in homes, hotels, and other forms of residential housing. They can be hard to get rid of and can afflict victims with irritating bites and scars. In most cases, one must get rid of their entire mattress and bedding to get rid of the bedbug infestation. Homeowners, property owners, and other business owners are expected to notify residents and tenants of a bed bug infestation. These owners are also expected to get rid of the infestation if they are given notice of one occurring on their premises. If a property owner fails to remedy the issue, they could be found liable for the damages through the pursuit of a lawsuit. However, filing these lawsuits can be challenging as there are many bed bug bite laws in California that can often complicate a case. For this reason, it is in your best interest that you seek legal representation from an attorney that is well versed in a hotel, apartment, and residential housing bedbug laws in California. At Normandie Law Firm our attorneys have a wealth of experience in fighting for the rights of tenants, and tenants, and are well-versed in California’s bed bug infestation laws. If you have any questions after reading this article, please feel free to reach out to our law offices for a free consultation from one of our many skilled legal advisors.
What are Bed Bugs?
Bed bugs are insects that are often described as small and brown. These insects thrive by consuming human or animal blood. After having fed on an individual, bed bugs often take on a reddish hue. Bed bugs are quite durable insects and are known to travel undetected in a person’s luggage, clothing, mattresses, and couches. Due to their size, they can fit into small spaces. The female species can lay hundreds of eggs over the course of their lifetime, causing a significant risk for infestation. Research has shown that bed bugs are most active at night, and will bite individuals when they are asleep. These insects can feed on an individual for approximately ten minutes before crawling back into hiding. Bed bugs can go unnoticed for a long period as the bites they inflict are painless in the beginning. Their small size also contributes to their ability to go undetected for a long period. After a period, these bites become itchy and even painful. A bed bug infestation can be identified by some of the following characteristics:
Sheets, pillowcases, or comforter stained with blood
- Signs of bed bug activity, like fecal spots, egg shells, or skin
- A harsh odor in your bedding, caused by the bed bugs scent glands
- Dark spotting on bedding or clothes. This is usually caused by bed bug waste.
While the damages bed bugs can cause aren’t often life-threatening, they can cause quite a nuisance and can often require extensive cleaning and treatments to get fully rid of. Some of this extensive cleaning treatment can include the following:
- A detailed cleaning of bedding, curtain, and clothing. This can consist of washing in hot water, or dry them on the highest setting.
- Scrub folds of the infested mattress to remove bed bugs and any potential egg sites
- Use a vacuum to detail your bed and the surrounding space. You may need to do this more than once.
- Purchase a mattress cover to seal off the mattress and box springs. This will ensure the bedbugs can’t escape. However, you may need to keep this case on for an extended period, as bed bugs can survive a year without feeding.
These are just some of the cleaning treatments you may need to perform to get rid of a bed bug infestation. However, these steps will not always guarantee a removal of an infestation. Sometimes it may be required to remove the entire mattress and purchase a new one. If this doesn’t help, you may need to hire a skilled exterminator to fully clear the apartment, home, or hotel of the infestation. These cleaning treatments can be quite expensive and can leave victims with debt that can be difficult to overcome. Fortunately, if you or a loved one suffered from a bed bug infestation due to the negligence of a homeowner, property owner, or hotel owner, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit against them. However, these lawsuits can be challenging to take on alone. For this reason, it is highly recommended you seek legal representation from an attorney who is skilled at fighting for the rights of tenants and residents. Having the right attorney by your side can make the difference between reaching a satisfactory settlement to cover all of your damages, and having your case dismissed from court entirely.
California Bed Bug Laws
The state of California has recently updated the bedbug laws for residential housing, hotels, apartment complexes and homes. These laws make it so that a landlord cannot retaliate against a tenant after a tenant makes notice of a bed bug infestation. This essentially means that a landlord cannot evict, raise the rent, or in anyway react negatively to a tenant notifying a landlord of a bed bug infestation. These laws also make it so that a landlord cannot rent or lease property that is known to have bed bugs. If it is found that a landlord rented a property to a tenant after being made aware of a bed bug infestation, that landlord can be held to the legal consequences. As well as protecting tenants, these laws also hold landlords accountable for remedying the situation. If a bed bug infestation is found on a property, the landlord must conduct a follow-up treatment. This treatment can apply to the initial source of the infestation and any of the surrounding units. Landlords are also expected to ensure that bed bug infestations are fully exterminated and treated. If a landlord or property owner fails to uphold any aspect of these bed bug laws, they could be found liable for the damages.
The largest cities are, unfortunately, often the cities where the risk of being exposed to a bed bug infestation is the greatest. The largest cities in CA include:
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- San Jose
- San Francisco
- Fresno
- Sacramento
- Long Beach
- Oakland
- Bakersfield
- Anaheim
- Santa Ana
- Riverside
- Stockton
- Irvine
- Chula Vista
- Fremont
- San Bernardino
- Modesto
- Fontana
- Moreno Valley
- Santa Clarita
- Oxnard
- Glendale
- Huntington Beach
- Ontario
- Rancho Cucamonga
- Santa Rosa
- Oceanside
- Elk Grove
- Garden Grove
- Corona
- Hayward
- Lancaster
- Salinas
- Palmdale
- Sunnyvale
- Pomona
- Escondido
- Torrance
- Roseville
- Pasadena
- Orange
- Fullerton
- Visalia
- Santa Clara
- Concord
- Thousand Oaks
- Simi Valley
- Victorville
- Vallejo
- Berkeley
- Fairfield
- Murrieta
- El Monte
- Carlsbad
- Temecula
- Clovis
- Costa Mesa
- Antioch
- Downey
- Richmond
- Jurupa Valley
- Ventura
- Inglewood
- Santa Maria
- Daly City
- West Covina
- San Mateo
- Norwalk
- Rialto
- Chico
- El Cajon
- Burbank
- Vista
- Vacaville
- San Marcos
- Hesperia
- Compton
- Menifee
- Tracy
- Mission Viejo
- Chino
- South Gate
- Redding
- Indio
- Carson
- Santa Barbara
- Westminster
- Santa Monica
- Livermore
- San Leandro
- Citrus Heights
- Hawthorne
- Redwood City
- Lake Forest
- Hemet
- Whittier
- Newport Beach
- Milpitas
- Chino Hills
Wherever you were exposed to bed bugs, our lawyers can help you.
Filing A Bed Bug Infestation Lawsuit
If you or a loved one have suffered from a bed bug infestation as a result of the negligence or misconduct of a property owner, or landlord, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit against the landlord under the basis of premises liability. Premises liability essentially states that property owners are expected to provide a reasonably safe and secure environment for tenants and patrons. When filing a lawsuit under premises liability, you must be able to prove the following:
- There was a hazardous condition or potentially dangerous condition on the property, like broken concrete or a wet floor, that presented an unreasonable risk of harm.
- The property owner should have been aware of the dangerous condition
- The property owner failed to either warn guests of a reasonable condition and did not take reasonable action to remedy the issue.
- The hazardous condition resulted in the injury of a tenant or patron.
Premises liability can apply to any property owner or business owner, from hotel owners to apartment complex property management companies. Regarding bed bug infestations, property owners and land lords are expected to ensure their premises are reasonably safe and secure. If it is found that a property owner rented a unit or a hotel owner sold a room infested with bed bugs these parties could be found liable for the damages. These damages can include anything from medical expenses needed to treat the initial bite wounds, to compensation for emotional distress or mental trauma. Regardless of the specific aspects of your case, the key aspect of every premises liability case is collecting substantial evidence. This evidence can include some of the following items:
- Photographs of the bite wounds
- Photographs of the infested mattress or bedding
- Medical expenses from required treatment
- Extermination billing
- Expenses of purchasing a new mattress, replacement clothing, or other infested items.
Whichever form of evidence you collect for your case, this evidence is typically used to prove the negligence of the property owner or landlord. A claim of negligence shows that the defendant acted negligently and that these specific negligent actions led to a plaintiff’s injuries. In this case, you must show that the property owner or landlord neglected to remedy a bed bug infestation. A claim of negligence requires that you can prove the following through the support of substantial evidence:
- Duty: The plaintiff (injured or damaged party) must be able to show that the defendant (property owner) owed a legal obligation to the plaintiff under the particular circumstances of the case.
- Breach: The plaintiff must be able to show that the defendant breached said legal duty through specific actions or failure to act appropriately
- Causation: The plaintiff must be able to show that the defendant’s actions or lack thereof caused the plaintiff’s injuries
- Damages: The plaintiff must be able to show that they endured some specific damages. This aspect can usually be shown through the presentation of medical records, a loss of wages, or a loss of potential income.
Regardless of the specific aspects of your case, the best way to reach a positive settlement is through the consultation of a skilled attorney. While every individual has a right to represent themselves in court, these parties often have the resources to retain a whole team of legal experts ready and willing to defend their client. For this reason, it is crucial that you seek legal representation from an attorney committed to fighting for your rights as a tenant, and to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve your damages.
How Normandie Law Firm Can Help
Being bitten by bed bugs at a hotel, apartment complex, or even your home can be incredibly traumatic. A bed bug infestation can also cause significant monetary damages as the expenses needed to replace furniture and hire a skilled exterminator can be difficult to bear alone. For this reason, if you or a loved one have suffered from a bed bug infestation, you may be eligible to file a claim for significant monetary compensation. With the help of our premises liability attorneys at Normandie Law Firm, you can earn the compensation you deserve for the damages you and your loved ones have suffered. If you file a claim, you may find some if not all of the following damages compensable to you:
- All of you medical and hospitalization costs
- All of your future medical care and treatment
- A loss of income and loss of future earnings due to long-term recovery or permanent disability due to the accident
- Compensable economic damages include loss of property or damaged property.
- Compensable non-economic damages include emotional distress, trauma, PTSD resulting from the accident, pain and suffering and anxiety.
Victims of bed bug infestations can contact our law offices to learn more about how to receive compensation. While our law firm is based in Los Angeles, our attorneys also practice in Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, Orange County, Riverside, Fresno, and throughout the state of California.
Free Second Opinions
Other attorneys will sign you up for their firm but will disappear once your name is on the paper as they are busy signing up more cases. In these instances, their business is based more on volume and will attempt to sign up as many cases as possible. In turn, they will spend less time on cases resulting in severely reduced settlements. Our firm will not treat you like a number. We will be in communication with you throughout our lawsuit and will treat you like family. So if you already have an attorney don’t worry, we’ll give you a second review of your case 100% free of charge.
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If you contact our law offices today, we can walk you through the complicated process of filing your claim completely free of charge. As a show this commitment to you and your case we offer our clients the benefits of a zero fee guarantee policy. Under our zero fee policy, all clients don’t pay for our services until their case is won. If you feel in need of a second opinion, second opinion case reviews are also free under this policy. Please, feel free to give us a call, and we can guide you down the path of receiving proper compensation for your damages.
