Bed bugs cause infestations, disease and devastation around the globe. Pittsburgh is no exception.
Bed bugs cause people to discard of belongings, suffer bites, illnesses, and infestation in their after bringing bed bugs home from hotels. If you believe you have a bed bug case, contact an experienced bed bug attorney for a consultation regarding your pre-litigation bed bug case representation.
How did I get bed bugs in Pittsburgh?
Whether you live in or visit Pittsburgh, you risk facing a bed bug infestation. Bed bugs live and thrive in other places in addition to mattresses, the location most people think of when considering where to find bed bugs. Bed bugs hide in bed frames or headboards, along baseboards and in dresser drawers. They hide in other furniture, in luggage and other personal belongings.
The fact that bed bugs hide so well, travel easily and have the ability to live for a long time without a blood meal, even in an empty home or apartment, likely makes it easier for some people to understand how they possibly suffered a bed bug infestation.
Do bed bugs cause disease?
Many sources still indicate that bed bugs do not cause illnesses; however, this is simply not true. The majority of sources published their information prior to the 2014 release of the Penn Medicine report that bed bugs do indeed have the ability to carry and transmit Chagas Disease, a disease that claims the lives of 50,000 people around the world on an annual basis.
Senior study author, Michael Z. Levy and his colleagues conducted multiple experiments to confirm their initial findings. Penn Medicine News also reported on findings from as far back as 1912, indicating the ability of bed bugs to carry and transmit disease. French parasitologist Émile Brumpt infected nearly 100 bed bugs exposed to an infected mouse and “Then used them to infect two healthy mice.”
Ricardo Castillo-Neyra, DVM, PhD, one of the Penn Medicine Co-authors explains that mice can eat bed bugs. Both bed bugs and mice have the potential to carry T.Cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas Disease. Bed bugs then have the ability to infect people through bed bug bites.
Do landlords and hotels have any responsibility for Pittsburgh bed bug infestations?
Hotel owners and landlords have a responsibility to keep the premises free of bed bug infestations. This is an important factor to note, even if you visit the Pittsburgh area. If you stay at a hotel, you risk bed bugs biting you when you sleep, crawling into your luggage, which then leads to carrying them home with you and infesting your home or apartment, potentially resulting in extensive damages.
Landlords owe a duty to tenants to prevent bed bugs or treat their rental properties. In fact, Pennsylvania courts have regularly ruled in favor of tenants, even when a landlord argues that the lease included an “As-is” statement, holding that, “An attempted waiver of the implied warranty of habitability in residential leases is unconscionable and must be held to be ineffective.”
Can I recover damages due to a bed bug infestation in the Pittsburgh Area?
People suffering from bed bug infestations have a potential cause to recover both monetary and non-monetary losses. Monetary losses include damages such as the cost of a professional exterminator, cost of replacing carpeting, bedding, furniture, lost wages and medical expenses. Non-monetary damages include embarrassment, emotional suffering, sleep disturbances and mental anguish.
To determine if you have a Pittsburgh bed bug case, contact the bed bug attorney that handles pre-litigation Pittsburg claims to discuss your bed bug legal case representation.