Tag Archives: Bed Bugs

May 5, 2013 · 7:27 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Ohio Motel Sued For $25,000 By Guest For “Bed Bug” Bites Requiring Medical Treatment; Staff Should Have Recognized Signs Of Infestation

“…in the morning, she claims she had bed bug bites, which were severe enough she required medical treatment. The bugs also reportedly infested the luggage she had with her. When she arrived home, the bed bugs reportedly infested her home…(the Bed Bugs in Hotel Roomsplaintiff) contends the staff should have been trained to recognize the signs of bed bugs, identified the problem, reported it to management and called in proper pest control measures to eradicate the creatures. She also believes she should have been alerted of the unsafe conditions of the room…”

A lawsuit was filed in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court this week seeking damages from bed bugs allegedly discovered last summer by a guest at Barnett’s Motel on U.S. Route 62 west of Salem. Jacki Covert, of Antiock, Ill., claims she rented room 110 on June 24, 2012 and spent a night at the motel.

According to the lawsuit, Hemiptera, which are also known as bed bugs, suck blood and rapidly reproduce. The bugs can be difficult to control, even in the cleanest facilities. The bugs shed their skin as they grow, leaving behind proof of their existence on sheets, pillow cases, couches, chairs, carpets and floors throughout the room.

She is seeking in excess of $25,000 in relief.

For more:  http://www.salemnews.net/page/content.detail/id/565283/Woman-sues-Barnett-s-Motel-over-alleged-bedbug-infestation.html?nav=5061

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February 13, 2013 · 7:30 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Bedbug Infestations Rise In 2012 With Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles And Denver Reporting Most Treatments

“…bedbugs continue to be a problem throughout the U.S…(there is a) need to be very cautious when we travel – Bed Bugs in Hotel Roomswhether it is business or pleasure, or to visit family, friends or vacation.”

Bedbugs are on the rise again in the U.S., which means business is booming for pest control companies like Orkin. With increased travel, both internationally and domestically, and higher bedbug resistance to existing pesticides, Orkin has seen an almost 33 percent boost in bedbug business compared to 2011.

The company has just released its rankings of U.S. cities in order of the number of bedbug treatments from January to December 2012. The “Windy City” of Chicago tops the list, followed by Detroit, Los Angeles, Denver and Cincinnati.

Here are the top 50 U.S. cities, ranked in order of the number of bedbug treatments.  The number in parenthesis is the shift in ranking compared to January to December 2011:

  1.     Chicago (+1)
  2.     Detroit (+1)
  3.     Los Angeles (+2)
  4.     Denver
  5.     Cincinnati (-4)
  6.     Columbus, Ohio
  7.     Washington, D.C. (+1)
  8.     Cleveland/Akron/Canton (+5)
  9.     Dallas/Ft. Worth (-2)
  10.     New York (-1)
  11.     Dayton, Ohio (+4)
  12.     Richmond/Petersburg, Va. (-2)
  13.     Seattle/Tacoma (+14)
  14.     San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose (-2)
  15.     Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville, N.C. (+4)
  16.     Indianapolis (+15)
  17.     Omaha, Neb. (+11)
  18.     Houston (-7)
  19.     Milwaukee (+13)
  20.     Baltimore (-2)
  21.     Syracuse, N.Y. (+2)
  22.     Boston (-8)
  23.     Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Colo. (+2)
  24.     Lexington, Ky. (-2)
  25.     Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (-1)
  26.     Hartford/New Haven, Conn. (+10)
  27.     Knoxville, Tenn. (+11)
  28.     Buffalo, N.Y. (+1)
  29.     Atlanta (-8)
  30.     Louisville, Ky. (+5)
  31.     Charleston/Huntington, W. Va. (+18)
  32.     San Diego, Calif. (-6)
  33.     Cedar Rapids/Waterloo, Iowa (+12)
  34.     Minneapolis/St. Paul (+12)
  35.     Phoenix (-1)
  36.     Pittsburgh (-6)
  37.     Honolulu (-19)
  38.     Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, Mich. (+1)
  39.     Grand Junction/Montrose, Colo. (-1)
  40.     Nashville, Tenn.
  41.     Lincoln/Hastings/Kearney, Neb. (+7)
  42.     Albany/Schenectady/Troy, N.Y. (+2)
  43.     Charlotte (-10)
  44.     Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.
  45.     Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto, Calif. (-4)
  46.     Las Vegas (-30)
  47.     Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, S.C.
  48.     Champaign/Springfield, Ill.
  49.     Portland, Or.
  50.     Sioux City, Iowa

For more: http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=A24912_0_11_0_M

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August 21, 2012 · 6:12 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued For “Failing To Recognize Signs Of, Inspect And Exterminate Bed Bugs In Guest Rooms”

“…(the lawsuit) is against…Marriott and the former Hickory Ridge Marriott Conference Hotel for failing to provide guests with a sanitary rooms, failing to inspect and exterminate rooms and failing to recognize signs of bed bug attacks, among other claims…”

Two women filed a lawsuit Monday in Cook County Circuit Court againstMarriott International Inc.and a now-closed Lisle Marriott Conference Center after claiming they and their respective children received numerous bed bug bites while staying at the hotel last August. April, Safford and the two children stayed at the suburban hotel from Aug. 6 to Aug. 15, 2011, according to the lawsuit.

During her stay at the hotel, April noticed bumps and bites all over her child’s “arms, hands, back, legs and scalp” while helping him get dressed, according to the lawsuit. She brought this to the attention of the manager, who asked if April had made a request for clean sheets, the lawsuit says.

The two women and both children were diagnosed as having “numerous bed bug bites from a significant infestation,” according to the lawsuit.

For more:  http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/suburbs/lisle/chi-women-sue-hotel-chain-over-bed-bug-bites-20120820,0,3322080.story

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May 11, 2012 · 6:08 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued For $250,000 For “Bed Bug Infestation” During 2010 Stay; Violation Of “Consumer Fraud And Deceptive Practices Act” Alleged

The suit claims hotel employees did not warn guests of the bugs before they stayed in the hotel from March 19, 2010 through May 21, 2010, according to court documents.

A couple from Nashville, Tennessee is suing an O’Fallon hotel for more than $250,000 following an alleged infestation of bed bugs during their stay. The hotel’s attorneys are fighting to dismiss the case and the hotel manager says bed bugs are not a problem.

Antwaine and Woodrow Ross allege the Days Inn O’Fallon hotel knew the critters Cinex lectularius, commonly known as bed bugs due to their tendency to be found in bedding, infested their rooms.

The Rosses seek more than $50,000 from each of five counts, which include claims the hotel violated the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act by concealing the infestation. Days Inn attorneys have filed a motion to dismiss four of the five counts claiming in part that the Rosses “misapprehend what constitutes a nuisance and a concurrent suit to stop an alleged nuisance” and they fail to show the Days Inn acted with “deliberate intention to harm.”

To prevent bed bug issues, the hotel states a program was instituted in 2010 that included:
• purchasing special box spring covers designed for bed bugs at a cost of $2,600 a piece,
• treating each with room approved anti-bed bug powder every three days,
• any room suspected of having bed bugs is locked down for three days and professionally treated,
• increasing the frequency of routine monthly extermination services,
• inspecting 5 to 10 rooms at random during each extermination service and providing a report to management, and
• cleaning each headboard with bleach.

Read more here: http://www.bnd.com/2012/05/10/2171520/days-inn-ofallon-sued-following.html#storylink=cpy

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March 10, 2012 · 8:24 am

Hospitality Industry Legal Risks: Jury Awards Maryland Woman $225,000 In Nation’s Largest “Bed Bug Liability Judgment”

On Thursday, a jury ordered Calidad Furniture & Linen Inc., the store that sold Jackson a pair of wood-frame beds, to pay Jackson and her sons $225,000 for the ordeal. It is one of the largest bedbug liability judgments in the country.

Multimillion-dollar lawsuits over bedbugs have become increasingly common as infestations have spread across the country and victims seek to hold landlords, hotels and retailers responsible for their exterminator bills and mental anguish.

But a public judgment is rare in bedbug liability cases. Lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages have received publicity in recent years, such as several filed against the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. But most fade away with confidential settlements.

In July 2010, Adarien Jackson’s 6-year-old son, Kaden, began complaining of itchy bumps on his ankles. They soon turned into a rash and spread to his back, behind his ear, and on his eyelid.

The child’s pediatrician and dermatologists tried allergy drugs, diet changes, oils and oatmeal baths. But it wasn’t until months later that Jackson discovered the cause of the problem. Kaden’s twin brother, Kyler, began waking in the middle of the night, crying out, “Bugs are crawling on me!”

Jackson realized her sons’ beds — which she had recently purchased from a furniture store in Elkridge — were teeming with bedbugs, according to a lawsuit she filed in Anne Arundel County in December 2010.

 

For more:  http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2012-03-09/news/bs-md-bed-bug-verdict-20120309_1_bedbug-infestation-bunk-beds-bed-wetting

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January 26, 2012 · 11:53 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: “High-End New York Hotels” Found To Have Bed Bugs

The Ritz is just the latest swanky hotel to report finding the blood-suckers in one of its rooms. Guests have previously complained about bedbugs at the Waldorf-Astoria.

Bedbugs have been spotted at the luxury Ritz-Carlton New York, reports The New York Times. A guest reported the pesky discovery to the front desk Sunday, and hotel management subsequently called an exterminator to rid the room of the creepy crawlers.

Guests in rooms next to the infested area, as well as those above and below it, were transferred to other accommodations and hotel workers received bedbug training, reports the Times.

Scott Geraghty, the hotel’s general manager, told the paper the problem had been remedied.

“Bedbugs are inevitable,” Geraghty said. “They’re brought in by guests and come in on luggage or things of that matter.”

For more:  http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Bedbug-Ritz-Carlton-Hotel-New-York-City-Infest-138120308.html

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December 22, 2011 · 6:45 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: “Bed Bugs” Have Become Increasingly “Resistant To Chemicals” Used To Treat Hotel Infestations

These mostly nocturnal feeders are difficult to control, not only because they are adept at avoiding detection by crawling into creases of soft furnishing but also because they have developed a resistance to many of the chemicals that have been used to kill them.

Exposure to treated bed nets and linens meant that populations of bed-bugs had become resistant to the chemicals used to kill them, researchers said. The findings could help convince pest controllers to find alternative remedies to deal with the problem.

Since almost vanishing from homes in industrialised countries in the 1950s, populations of the common bed-bug have become re-established in these regions over the past decade or so.

Findings presented at the gathering in Philadelphia showed that 90% of 66 populations sampled from 21 US states were resistant to a group of insecticides, known as pyrethroids, commonly used to kill unwanted bugs and flies.

One of the co-authors – evolutionary biologist Warren Booth, from North Caroline State University in Raleigh – explained that the genetic evidence he and his colleagues had collected showed that the bed-bugs infecting households in the US and Canada in the last decade were not domestic bed bugs, but imports.

For more:  http://ehotelier.com/hospitality-news/item.php?id=22337_0_11_0_C

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November 21, 2011 · 7:22 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Expert Panel Discusses Issues Regarding “Bed Bug” Infestations And Treatment (Video)

This live panel discussion from the Bed Bug Business Plan event identifies the most critical bed bug issues in the hospitality, commercial real estate and multifamily property management industries.

Expert representatives include Kevin Maher of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), Patricia M. Areno of Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA), and Scot Haislip of the National Apartment Association (NAA).

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October 18, 2011 · 9:04 am

Hospitality Industry Health Risks: Wisconsin Hotels Respond To Complaints Of “Bed Bugs” With Swift Action

“Although the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) estimates there has been an increase in bed bugs in America over the last several years, the increase has had a minimal impact on the vast majority of hotels. Bed bugs are brought into hotels by guests; it is not a hotel sanitation issue. Education, awareness, and vigilance are critical. A trained and knowledgeable housekeeping staff is one of the best lines of defense, along with having regular pest control inspections as we have in place at the Rodeway Inn and Suites.”

The Health Department said it has gotten bed bug complains about the Rodeway Inn on Hastings Way and the Days Inn on Craig Road. These reports show how both hotels took quick action to control their bed bug problems.

But the Health Department said it’s important to remember that just because a hotel has the bugs, it doesn’t mean they’re dirty. “They can get into small cracks and crevasses and crawl out in the place they stop at and quite frequently that is a hotel,” said Courtenay Johnson, the Director of Environmental Health.

A complaint about the Rodeway Inn, filed with the Health Department by a guest claims they found six bed bugs on their bed. Another complaint about the Days Inn on Craig Road showed bed big sniffing dogs looking for the blood sucking pests. Both documents show the hotels took swift action.

“I haven’t seen a hotel or heard of one anywhere else that’s allowed a bed bug infestation to persist,” Johnson said.

For more;  http://www.weau.com/news/headlines/131902858.html?ref=858

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September 27, 2011 · 6:10 am

Hospitality Industry Guest Health Risks: Illinois Hotel Sued Six Months After Guests Discovered Bed Bugs In Room

A hotel employee again offered the couple a new room, the lawsuit said, but they declined. After they returned home, they said Gonzales noticed bite marks on Layman’s shoulder. She said a doctor confirmed she was bitten by bed bugs, and the couple’s suit said a Hollywood Casino manager acknowledged the pests were bed bugs.

“..they pulled down the covers and discovered red bugs running on the sheets. Layman said she videotaped the bugs with her cell phone…”

 

A Blue Island couple is suing the Hollywood Casino Joliet and its hotel, saying they found bed bugs in their room more than six months ago. Tamara Layman and Leo Gonzales filed the lawsuit in Will County this month. Layman said she first tried asking a manager there to simply reimburse her for doctor visits, lost property and a ruined weekend. But she said she’s had no success.

The lawsuit said Layman and Gonzales checked into the casino’s hotel March 5, left their luggage in their room and went to the casino. They returned a few hours later and went to sleep. But Layman said she woke up at 1:30 a.m. and noticed a bug on a pillow.

Gonzales killed the bug, and Layman carried it in a tissue to the hotel’s front desk, where an employee offered to give them another room.

Layman and Gonzales said they threw out most, if not all, of what they brought to the casino including luggage. They also said it took 17 days for the hotel to send an exterminator to their home for an inspection.

For more:  http://news.google.com/news/more?q=hotel&hl=en&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1366&bih=497&wrapid=tlif131713187418910&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ncl=d6mgZ9jhZCUXCgMuGZI-DUW1QcQjM&ei=adaBTpPAMI7MsQLqmoiYDw&sa=X&oi=news_result&ct=more-results&resnum=10&ved=0CMsBEKoCMAk

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