Note: This content is for informational purposes only, our law firm does not handle matters involving bed bug injuries.
Large cities tend to be hot spots for bed bugs. Miami is no exception. Each year, Miami ranks as one of the top 50 bed bug cities in the country. Despite being incredibly small, these pests can cause a world of trouble. Bed bugs can cause serious injuries, infections, and in severe cases, death.
Property owners in Miami have an obligation to keep their premises safe and clean for guests. If you’ve been injured because of bed bugs while on someone else’s property you may have the right to recover compensation.
Why It’s Important to Hire a Miami Bed Bug Lawyer
Bed bug bites can cause a lot of problems. You may experience painful physical injuries and even develop serious infections or complications. Medical treatment can be incredibly expensive. If your injury is severe, you may even miss time at work and experience a drop in your income.
Filing a lawsuit against the owner of the bed bug infested property can help you get much-needed compensation. However, the last thing you need to do is shift your attention away from your physical recovery. Hiring an attorney gives you the time you need to get better while also increasing the likelihood of getting the money you need.
Here’s what you can expect when you turn to Lavent Law, P.A. for help with your bed bug injury lawsuit. We will:
- Protect you from insurance companies interested in minimizing your payout
- Determine the cause of your injury and identify who may be to blame
- Analyze your case and figure out how your bed bug injury will affect you in the future
- Carefully value your case with the help of area experts
- Approach negotiations with persuasive arguments and hard evidence, and
- Litigate your case if you’re not happy with the settlement offers you receive.
Understanding Bed Bugs Infestations in Miami
Bed bugs are tiny pests. In fact, they’re only about the size of an apple seed. They thrive on blood. While any mammal’s blood will do, studies have shown that bed bugs prefer to attack humans. As a result, bed bugs are commonly found in the places where we make ourselves most comfortable. This includes beds, couches, clothes, and furnishings in the rooms we use the most. Bed bugs infest these areas and will travel between 5 and 20 feet to feed on a warm body.
Where are Bed Bugs Commonly Found?
According to the 2015 Bugs Without Borders Survey, bed bugs are commonly found at:
- Apartments and condos
- Single-family homes
- Hotels
- Motels
- Nursing homes
- Office buildings
- Daycare centers and schools
- Hospitals
- Doctor’s offices, and
- Movie theatres.
Maintaining clean living spaces and working to prevent bed bug infestations is the only way to stop a bed bug injury from happening.
Common Bed Bug Injuries
Bed bugs can cause a wide range of injuries. Commonly reported bed bug injuries in Miami include:
- Cuts
- Abrasions
- Skin rashes
- Anemia
- Allergies
- Infections
- Disfigurement
- Tissue damage, and more.
If these injuries are left untreated you may develop potentially life-threatening complications. Infections can be particularly dangerous and pose a threat to your future.
Liability for Bed Bug Injuries in Miami
Hotels and apartment buildings are two major hot spots for bed bug activity. Owners of these properties have a legal obligation to make sure that the rooms, suites, and homes they provide are safe and habitable.
Bed Bugs and Miami Hotels
Bed bugs are often drawn to hotels because they are high-traffic areas. One room in a hotel may see as many as seven different guests in a single week. If these rooms aren’t cleaned and maintained properly, they can become a prime spot for these little pests. Bed bugs are great at hitchhiking on people, pets, and personal belongings. If a bed bug makes its way into a hotel room, chances are fairly high that the hotel will become infested if it doesn’t run a clean ship.
Hotels have an obligation to make sure that its rooms and premises are reasonably safe for guests. This includes preventing infestations of pests, including bed bugs. The best way to prevent a bed bug infestation is by cleaning each room and changing sheets and linens regularly between guests. Hotels that do not clean thoroughly and regularly can be liable for bed bug injuries that may occur. You may have a valid lawsuit based on premises liability or negligence.
Bed Bugs and Miami Apartments
When you live in an apartment complex or building you have a right to feel safe and secure in your own home. You pay rent to a landlord in exchange for safe and habitable living premises. Habitability simply means that your apartment is free from hazards and suitable for living. Your landlord has a responsibility to do whatever they can to keep your home safe.
In Florida, landlords have a specific obligation when it comes to bed bugs found in an apartment complex. Florida Law states that “the landlord of a dwelling unit other than a single-family home or duplex shall, at all times of the tenancy, make reasonable provisions for The extermination of rats, mice, roaches, ants, wood-destroying organisms, and bedbugs.”
Landlords cannot charge rent for the time you’re forced to evacuate your home if bed bugs are found.
If your apartment becomes overrun with bedbugs and your landlord does nothing they can be liable for any harm you suffer. You can file a personal injury lawsuit to recover compensation for your injuries.
Damages Available to Miami Bed Bug Injury Victims
Even though they’re no bigger than the size of a small seed, bed bugs can inflict a lot of pain and suffering. When a landlord or property owner’s negligence is the cause of your bed bug injury you have the right to demand compensation.
At Lavent Law, P.A., our personal injury lawyers will aggressively pursue monetary damages on your behalf. We’ll fight to recover compensation for:
- Medical bills
- Rehabilitation
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Chronic pain
- Emotional distress
- Lost wages
- Disability
- Property damage
- Loss of enjoyment of life, and more.
Call our personal injury team today to schedule a free consultation. We’ll review your case and explain your legal rights and options.
Steps to Take If You Suffer a Bed Bug Injury in Miami
The steps you take after you’re bitten by bed bugs will affect any future legal claims you decide to pursue. Keep these suggestions in mind to make sure that your personal injury case is as strong as possible:
- Take photographs of the pests, premises, and injuries
- Report the bed bug infestation to the landlord or property owner
- Seek medical attention as soon as you can and ask for a full evaluation
- Document the extent of your injuries and damages
- Search for prior reports of bed bugs at that particular location
- Refuse early settlement offers from insurance company representatives, and
- Contact an experienced attorney to handle your case.
Miami Bed Bug Injury Lawyers
Have you suffered a bed bug bite and injury in Miami? Has a landlord or property owner’s negligence caused the bed bug infestation and your injury? If so, you may have the right to recover compensation for the harm you’ve suffered.