How to Sue a Hotel for Bed Bugs and Bed Bug Bites

May 8, 2024 | Premises Liability

How to Sue a Hotel for Bed Bugs and Bed Bug Bites

Staying in a hotel in San Antonio is usually an enjoyable experience. However, waking up with painful red marks all over your body is a traumatic experience. Unfortunately, bed bugs are common in many hotels.

Bed bugs are considered a public health risk. These tiny insects can infest a space and are difficult to eliminate once they arrive. In addition to being bitten while staying in a hotel room infested with bed bugs, victims may take the bed bugs with them on their clothing or in their luggage, infesting their homes.

What Damages Can Bed Bugs Cause?

Bed bugs are small, reddish-brown parasitic insects about the size of an apple seed when fully grown. Immature bed bugs are smaller and appear whitish-yellow in color, making them almost invisible without using a magnifying glass.

Bed bugs feed on human blood while a person sleeps. They can be found in mattresses, furniture, bed frames, and other places where people live and sleep.

Unfortunately, you may not know there is a bed bug infestation until you wake up with bite marks. Most people do not feel it when bed bugs bite because they inject an anesthetic to numb the skin when they bite you. However, when you wake up, you may experience the symptoms of bed bug bites, which include mild pain, itchiness, burning sensations, rash/red bumps, and inflammation.

Sometimes, a person may experience a severe allergic reaction to bed bug bites. They may have trouble breathing, irregular heartbeat, and a swollen tongue. They may notice blisters and have a fever. Immediate medical treatment is required for severe reactions to bed bugs.

Depending on the severity of the bed bug infestation, a person could develop scars because they slept in a hotel room with bed bugs. Complications from infections and anemia can cause tissue damage and other permanent impairments.

A victim may develop PTSD, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. In addition to the physical and emotional damages, a bed bug victim may incur substantial financial losses as they seek treatment for injuries and try to get rid of bed bugs that might have traveled home with them from the hotel room.

Can I Sue a Hotel in Texas for Bed Bug Bites?

Property owners and other parties in control of the property can be held liable for injuries under Texas premises liability laws. These parties have a duty to take reasonable care to ensure safe premises, including preventing bed bug infestations. When a party fails in their duty of care, they can be held financially liable for their negligence.

Parties that could be liable for bed bug injuries at a hotel include, but are not limited to:

  • Hotel owners
  • Property owners
  • Management companies
  • Cleaning services

A hotel room does not need to be dirty to have bed bugs. The cleanest hotel room could have a bed bug infestation. Unless you check the bottom sheets and closely inspect the bedding, you might not know about the bed bugs until the following day when you see evidence of them on your body.

Examples of Damages You Could Receive if You Sue a Hotel for Bed Bugs in Texas

Victims of bed bug injuries can seek compensation for their economic and non-economic damages. 

Damages you could receive in a bed bug claim include:

The amount you receive for a bed bug injury case depends on the severity of your injuries and the extent of your financial losses. The hotel and insurance company will downplay the damages caused by the bed bugs. A San Antonio bed bug injury attorney can help you seek compensation for your damages.

What Should I Do as a Victim of Bed Bugs in a San Antonio Hotel?

If you believe bed bugs caused your injuries, inspect your hotel room. Take photographs of evidence of bed bugs. The hotel may clean the room and deny there were any bed bugs.

Evidence of bed bugs includes rusty, reddish stains on the bed sheets and mattresses, pale yellow skins, dark spots about the size of a period on a piece of paper, and live bed bugs. Take photographs of bites, rashes, welts, and other injuries.

Seek immediate medical treatment to confirm the injuries were caused by bed bugs. Prompt medical care improves your chance of recovering fair compensation.

Report the bed bugs immediately to a manager. Ask for a copy of the report, if the manager or another hotel employee prepares one.

Contact The San Antonio Premises Liability Attorneys from George Salinas Injury Lawyers

A bed bug injury lawyer in San Antonio will help you take the next steps to file a bed bug injury claim. If you were injured in San Antonio, TX, please get in touch with George Salinas Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation. We serve all throughout Bexar County and the surrounding areas.

George Salinas Injury Lawyers
6243 I-10 Ste. 955,
San Antonio, TX 78201
(210) 225-0909
Available 24 hours!