Columbia hotel facing bed bugs claim
- January 30, 2019
A man claiming he was bitten by bed bugs during a stay at Hampton Inn in Columbia this past November has filed a lawsuit seeking judgement in excess of $50,000 against the hotel’s management group.
In the suit, filed Jan. 11 against St. Louis-based hotel owner, operator and developer Midas Hospitality, a 40-year-old New Jersey man alleges that Hampton Inn failed to inspect Room 230 prior to its use, failed to eradicate or remove an infestation of bed bugs and failed to warn him the room may be infested with bed bugs.
The plaintiff states that he was a guest at Hampton Inn, located at 165 Admiral Trost Drive, on Nov. 13.
The plaintiff claims in the suit that he was “bitten repeatedly by bed bugs” during his stay and “sustained injuries to various parts of his body from all of which he has and in the future will suffer pain and disability.”
The plaintiff is being represented by attorney Brad L. Badgley of Belleville.
Columbia’s Hampton Inn opened in August 2008 under the ownership of Columbia Hospitality, LLC.
The 77-room hotel was acquired in October 2010 by Midas Hospitality.
Midas Hospitality had not returned requests for comment on this lawsuit as of press time.
According to MayoClinic.org, bed bugs are small, reddish-brown parasitic insects that bite the exposed skin of sleeping humans and animals to feed on their blood. About the size of an apple seed, bed bugs hide in the cracks and crevices of beds, box springs, headboards, bed frames and any other objects around a bed.
The risk of encountering bedbugs increases if you spend time in places with high turnovers of nighttime guests — such as hotels, hospitals or homeless shelters.
