A California Family Won a $1.6 Million Lawsuit Over Their Bed Bug Infestation From Hell
A California family plagued by bed bugs for months has come awaywith some solace: On Wednesday, a civil court jury ordered theirformer landlords to pay them $1.6 million over the ordeal.
In 2012, Liliana Martinez and her husband alleged in theircomplaint, their apartment complex in Inglewood, California becameinfested with bed bugs. They complained to the management companythat maintained their building, Westland Industries, and had theirhome fumigated and furniture thrown out. But the bugs kept onbiting over the next four months, only being eradicated afternumerous complaints and the complete removal of carpeting from thehome.
In 2014, after they moved out, they sued the owners, AmusementSix Apartments, for breach of warranty of habitability, emotionaldistress, negligence, and breach of contract.
During the infestation, their 3-year-old son Jorge Maravilla Jr.reportedly become so ridden with bites that he developed permanentscars from scratching them, while their 3-month-old daughter wasbitten repeatedly on her back as she slept. The shoddy attempts tofix their situation, along with a concurrent cockroach infestation,the family alleged, left them feeling as though they lived in「slum-type living conditions.」
「It was very emotional, seeing my son going through that itchingand all that bleeding,」 Liliana Martinez told CBSLA.
The jury ultimately sided with them, awarding the family exactly$1,593,500 in damages. The young son was personally awarded over$800,000.
「I really think it』s important to give a voice to those whodon』t have a voice or who can』t stand up for justice on their own,」the family』s lawyer, Brian Virag, told the New York Times. Viraghas represented clients in other civil bed bug lawsuits, includinga recent case in which residents of another Los Angeles apartmentcomplex were awarded a $3.5 million. Virag says the $1.6 millionaward is the largest he』s seen for a single-family lawsuit.
Bed bugs have become notoriously difficult to get rid of inrecent years, thanks to their growing resistance to once-foolproofchemical pesticides. It』s believed this resistance, along withother factors, has allowed them to storm back from being nearlywiped out in the middle of the 20th century. And nowadays, expertsrecommend a combination of chemical and non-chemical approaches(such as cooking them to death with steam) to eradicate them.
