Bed bug cases are on the rise across the U.S., including the Philadelphia area. This does not mean you have to suffer the physical, emotional and other damages associated with bed bug infestations or coming in contact with bed bugs in a Philadelphia hotel or workplace due to the negligence of others.
If you think you have a bed bug case, contact Philadelphia bed bug lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your pre-litigation bed bug case representation.
How do I know if I have bed bugs?
Bed bugs hide in bedding, along mattress seams, on the box springs and even the headboard and bed frame. Bed bugs crawl along baseboards to avoid detection. They thrive in sofas, chairs and other upholstered furniture. They hide behind wall decorations such as mirrors, picture frames or wall clocks.
They even take up residency in luggage, shoes and clothing, which make it very easy to carry bed bugs home from your Philadelphia hotel room. Carrying them home from your hotel or workplace easily leads to a bed bug infestation in your home before you even realize that you have bed bugs in your home. 
Perhaps you noticed bites and wonder how you were exposed to bed bugs even though you did not stay in a hotel recently. Bed bugs can go for long periods of time without feeding on their next victim. This means that bed bugs have the ability to live in a Philadelphia home or apartment even when vacant. It is entirely possible that you could move into a residence that already has a bed bug infestation. Bed bugs are so prevalent in the Philadelphia area that Penn State Extension announced the creation of a newly formed “Philadelphia Bed Bug Task Force” in 2015.
Can bed bugs in Philadelphia make me sick?
Although past reports indicate that bed bugs are merely an annoyance, the fact is that bed bugs can indeed cause people to become very sick. The American Academy of Dermatology lists some effects of bed bug bites, including itchy, swollen bites and welts, feeling very ill, large blisters, swollen tongue, allergic reaction and even the potential for suffering an irregular or forceful heartbeat. Physical symptoms and related medical expenses are not the only effects of suffering a bed bug infestation or bed bug bites. The AAOD also explains that a person may suffer from “Anxiety and some restless nights.”
Recent studies demonstrate that as pathogen-carrying vectors, bed bugs do indeed have the potential to cause disease. For example, Penn Medicine researchers at the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, along with researchers from Peru, announced, “We’ve shown that the bed bug can acquire and transmit the parasite” Trypanosoma cruzi, that causes the potentially deadly Chagas Disease. Penn Medicine calls Chagas Disease “One of the most prevalent and deadly diseases in the Americas.”
Should I hire a bed bug bite attorney in Philadelphia to sue a hotel?
Considering research published by the National Institutes of Health, Philadelphia residents in fear of suffering monetary and non-monetary damages associated with bed bug bites and infestations may have even greater cause for concern.
Researchers report that typical agents used to eradicate bed bugs in the U.S. and Europe are instead causing bed bugs to mutate. When studying bed bug infestations in two apartment buildings outside of Paris, researchers found “that 54 out of 143 bed bugs were resistant to pyrethroids” and that all bed bugs tested had a gene mutation.
When property owners, landlords, hotel owners, managers and others responsible for ensuring no infestation occurs fail to take measures to prevent bed bugs and fail to aggressively eradicate them, the situation potentially worsens. This subjects residents, guests, employees and others to even greater risk of suffering damages caused by bed bugs.
With the help of a Philadelphia bed bug bite lawyer, you may be able to seek compensation.
Damages You May Recover When Suing for Bed Bugs with a Philadelphia Bed Bug Bite Lawyer
Monetary damages that individuals suffer includes things such as actual costs of medical visits, prescriptions, loss of personal property, professional home extermination, loss of wages, cost of cleaning carpets or vehicles and replacing personal possessions. Other expenses can include money spent on travel to and from medical appointments, costs of cleaning supplies and other products used to treat infestations, expenses on discarding and replacing certain items such as clothing, shoes, luggage, bedding, and furniture, and in more extreme cases the costs of moving expenses and breaking leases. In many cases, bed bug bite victims may have to stay home from work to greet exterminators or perform other tasks related to infestations, resulting in lost wages.
You also likely incur non-monetary damages from bed bug bites and infestations in Philadelphia. The emotional and psychological pain, permanent scarring from bites, embarrassment and multiple inconveniences are all examples to discuss with your attorney. There are many inconveniences that you might experience, including the need to attend appointments, clean and purchase items, and the stress of switching to new hotels or even new homes. Victims may also be embarrassed of visible bites in areas that are difficult to cover, such as the face, legs, and arms.
Both the potential monetary and non-monetary damages can provide victims with a case for compensation from landlords and other negligent parties responsible for allowing infestations to occur.
Our office represents victims of Philadelphia bed bug bites on a pre-litigation basis. Learn more about bed bug case representation with your free Philadelphia bed bug case consultation.