Christian Hardigree, Kennesaw State University, shared
the legal implications of bed bugs in a humorous, yet informative presentation.
Bed bugs, lawsuits and litigation: The latest in bed bug legal activity
Earlier this year in Denver, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) held the 2015 Global Bed Bug Summit. Sponsored by Bed Bug Central, the summit is designed to provide pest management professionals (PMPs) with a broad bed bug education, in arenas as varied as legal, technical, business and customer service.
Christian Hardigree, director of the Institute for Culinary Sustainability and Hospitality at Kennesaw (Ga.) State University, is a familiar face to many PMPs thanks to her speaking engagements at numerous industry events. The focus of her Summit presentation was on legal issues related to bed bug work.
The entertainingly tongue-in-cheek presenter and legal expert pointed out that the resurgence of bed bugs during the past several years has brought a corresponding onslaught of bed bug-related lawsuits with it. The bulk of these are directed at lodging establishments and the hotel industry, but in many cases, pest management companies also get yanked into the legal entanglements.
Lawsuits against a hotel because of a bed bug incident could lead to that hotel suing the pest management company it hired to indirectly prevent such litigation. Contracts and service agreements that pest management companies have with their clients can be their best protection against a lawsuit.
“It’s virtually impossible to keep someone from suing you,” Hardigree says. “So your best defense is to prevent them from suing you successfully.”
Examining the language of service agreements and carefully tailoring the wording of your company’s contracts should be a top priority for anyone conducting bed bug work, according to Hardigree. She says it’s imperative to close the language loopholes that could allow a litigious customer from holding you responsible for (as an example) a reinfestation that’s caused by a reintroduction of bed bugs long after your company has practiced due diligence to eradicate the pest. Even if you did the job right and solved the problem, there’s no guarantee you’re protected from a property manager who’s looking for someone to blame when the problematic pests turn up again in a hotel room or apartment.
“Unfortunately, I can’t tell you how to write the perfect contract that is guaranteed to protect you from a bed bug suit,” she said. “Appropriate language is the key to drawing up a strong contract, but appropriate language might be different depending on where you are.
“Laws vary from state to state, which is why I can’t tell you there’s one word or phrase that will keep you from being sued in all 50 states, because it doesn’t exist,” Hardigree said.
She advised PMPs to bite the bullet and spend the money to hire a lawyer in their state who can help draft a service agreement that protects the pest management company best. In most cases, legal fees spent hiring a legal professional to help construct a solid service agreement is tax deductible.
Hardigree also advised to carefully monitor the way pest management salespeople, particularly those working for commission, sell their bed bug services. “Sometimes a salesperson might overstate or oversell your service to get the job, which can be dangerous,” she said.
“Making overreaching statements about effectiveness can lead to a company being held liable under an expressed warranty claim.”
Shep addresses challenges, dispels myths
At the Purdue Pest Management Conference earlier this year, Pest Management Professional columnist Mark “Shep” Sheperdigian, BCE, spoke to an auditorium full of conference attendees on the topic of “Customer Challenges in Bed Bug Solutions.”
He began with a short recap about what every pest management professional (PMP) should know about bed bugs, including that they must find safe harborage near a host that provides a regular meal before populations begin to spread — usually months later.
“After populations explode, hitchhiking bed bugs ride out on people, clothes and any manner of things, to an uncertain future,” Sheperdigian said.
He also tackled some of the unrealistic expectations related to bed bug work by breaking down what should be the proper responses in a given bed bug infestation scenario. For example, when responding to a bed bug call from a school, Sheperdigian said he believes sending students home is the wrong course of action.
“A trained professional should be called in to do a cursory inspection of the classrooms and the areas in which the bed bugs were found,” he explained, adding regular canine inspections are good for catching infestations before they start.
“I’ve asked all my bed bug-topic audiences for reports of actual school infestations,” he said. “After years of asking, only two infestations have been noted: one in a teacher lounge and one in a daycare room. Schools in some communities are very likely to see bed bugs introduced but are not at high risk for bed bug infestations.”
Sheperdigian also spoke about helping commercial accounts when bed bugs become a factor in the workplace.
“Businesses need a written plan to follow that will minimize the chance of bed bugs being brought into the office,” he said.
Again, he reiterated the helpfulness of adding canine inspections to the equation.
“The program should also include management education and training, employee education, regular visits, and monitoring by a pro,” he continued. “Early detection is the key to keeping bed bug management costs low.”
Finally, Sheperdigian tried to set the record straight about bed bug myths (or near myths).
“A live bed bug found in a room means everyone in that room could become infected?” he asks rhetorically. “False! It’s likely most hitchhiking bed bugs never find a suitable home, or decent meal ever. Mostly they starve to death … cold and alone.”
Another near myth Sheperdigian addressed was the idea that a single living bed bug is capable of starting a full-on infestation on its own.
“Only if the bed bug is a gravid — or fertilized — female can it start an infestation by itself,” he said. “It usually requires many bed bugs to be brought in before something gets started, but by then, of course, things can get bad.”
You can reach Senior Editor Will Nepper at wnepper@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3775.
Leave A Comment