Nothing is as unpleasant as receiving a new mattress, chair, or couch, only to find out a few days later that your fresh piece of furniture is home to a bed bug infestation.
If you suspect that you’ve received injuries from bed bug infested furniture purchased from Raymour & Flanigan, you may be able to seek legal assistance to see if you have a solid case. If you have enough evidence, you may be able to build a negligence case against the store.
Bed Bug Injury Law is here to assess your case and possibly offer assistance if you experienced issues with bed bugs after receiving newly purchased furniture from Raymour & Flanigan stores. If your new furniture is infested with bed bugs, there are certain legal actions you can take to potentially get fair compensation.
Bed Bugs from Furniture Stores
Many people make a common mistake by thinking that bed bugs exist only in beds. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. It’s common that people report bed bugs injuries caused by bed bugs in brand new furniture.
Bed bugs infest retail stores quite often, especially if these furniture stores don’t take adequate precautionary measures or leave the infestation untreated. Bed bugs seek soft, warm, and small spaces to lay eggs. And where there’s one, there’s a whole colony.
These pests can live anywhere. They are extremely fast to reproduce and cause real trouble if left untreated. To make things worse, they tend to frequent places where people travel, like hotels, motels, and so on.
Where to Check for Raymour & Flanigan Bed Bugs
Since bed bugs can live in undisturbed, warm and dark places, we suggest you take precautions to check for bed bugs before allowing newly purchased furniture into your home.
The places you should check, especially if you bought new furniture such as a new bed, mattress or couch are:
- Around the headboard, bed frame, box spring, tags, and seams of a mattress
- Between couch cushions
- In the rivets and folds of curtains
- Inside of drawer joints
- Screw heads on new furniture
Bed bug infestations are often the result of negligence. Many furniture stores around the country don’t pay enough attention to proper pest control precautions, and they even leave bed bugs infestations untreated. When this happens, innocent buyers suffer the consequences.
Actions to Take if You Suspect a Bed Bug Infestation
Any sale of incorrectly fumigated, inspected, or refurbished furniture such as carpets, couches, chairs, headboards, box springs, mattresses, and sofas can be the cause of a bed bug infestation. If you find any bed bugs in your new furniture, make sure you properly document the evidence with pictures.
Take photographs of any bed bug bites (small clusters of red bumps), live bed bugs (small, reddish-brown oval-shaped bugs), bed bug eggs (small, opaque eggs), or bed bug waste (reddish-brown spots).
Furniture stores may attempt to blame you for the bed bugs. You can also call a pest inspector or exterminator to inspect your newly purchased furniture. This can help in building your case.
If you think you have a case, do not attempt to make contact with the store to negotiate payment without contacting a legal representative. However, if the furniture is still in your home, it is important to immediately reach out to the furniture store to facilitate getting the infested furniture removed from your home. Furniture stores work with insurance companies to protect their interests against such claims. Therefore, we recommend not speaking to them short of requesting the infested merchandise be promptly removed, without consulting with a bed bug attorney.
Bed Bug Infestation Legal Pursuit
If your injuries are caused by beg bugs from the furniture you’ve recently purchased, you are potentially entitled to compensation.
Compensation can cover any of the following:
- Exchange or refund of the furniture infested with bed bugs
- Pain and suffering
- Treatments, inspections, and other professional extermination services
- Medical bills
- Property damage such as discarded clothing, carpet, and furniture
- Temporary housing expenses
- Lost wages
- All additional expenses incurred as a direct result of the bed bug infestation
- Punitive damages
Bed Bug Injury Law Can Assess Your Case
If you suspect you have been the victim of Raymour & Flanigan bed bugs, contact Bed Bug Injury Law today to get your free consultation. Find out if you have a case today!