Johnathan Walker:Woman was left with 'permanent scarring' from bedbugs in Vegas hotel, suit claims

A Mississippi woman is Johnathan Walkersuing a Las Vegas hotel, claiming she stayed there and suffered itching and pain for weeks due to bedbugs, as well as permanent scarring.

The woman, Krystal Nailer, said she sustained the injuries during an October 2022 stay at the STRAT Hotel, Casino & Tower and spent over $15,000 as a result of the hotel’s negligence.

She has spent at least $15,000 after she claims she was bitten by a bedbug at the STRAT hotel. She expects to incur more costs and is suing for reimbursement, as well as attorney’s fees.

Her lawyer filed the lawsuit Oct. 8 in the Eighth Judicial District Court in Clark County, naming Stratosphere Gaming LLC and Golden Entertainment as defendants.

The STRAT did not comment on the case but sent USA TODAY a statement the Nevada Resort Association released in February. In the statement, the association said it puts the health and safety of its guests and employees first.

“With approximately 155,000 hotel rooms and 41 million annual visitors, four rooms impacted over a nearly five-month period that generated millions of room nights shows these are extremely rare and isolated occurrences,” the statement read. 

“The minute number of incidents reflects the comprehensive and proactive health and safety measures and pest-control procedures Las Vegas resorts have in place to prevent and address issues.”

The association went on to say bedbugs can be transported anywhere in luggage and clothing. Once employees find out a guest has been impacted by bedbugs, guests are relocated to new rooms and the impacted rooms are closed so exterminators can treat them.

The lawsuit says the woman never had bedbugs at her own home before visiting the hotel, nor had she been bitten. 

Beg bugs on the strip:Bedbugs found at 4 Las Vegas hotels, Nevada Resort Association says instances are 'rare'

What are bedbugs?

Bedbugs typically don’t spread diseases to people but can cause itching, loss of sleep, and on rare occasions, allergic reactions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

They are small, reddish-brown, flat insects that bite people and animals at night while they sleep, feeding on their blood, the CDC said on its website. 

They are wingless and typically measure between 1 millimeter to 7 millimeters in size (about the size of Lincoln's head on a penny). Without a blood meal, they can still live several months, the CDC reported.

Woman woke up scratching and itching at hotel

According to the complaint, Nailer checked into room 11059 at the STRAT on Oct. 16, 2022. Two days later, she woke up scratching and itching. When she got out of bed to look at her body, she found “painful welts on her left leg and buttocks,” as well as a bedbug on the bed.

She told the front desk what was happening and a hotel employee came up to check the room. The employee took an incident report and gave the woman hydrocortisone cream for her injuries.

“Plaintiff suffered terrible itching and pain for weeks,” the lawsuit reads. “To this day, Plaintiff has permanent scarring on her body, due to this incident.”

The lawsuit also alleges she suffered emotional damages such as severe embarrassment, annoyance, discomfort, pain, apprehension, tension, anxiety and emotional distress.

Due to her injuries, she had to pay medical fees, as well as costs for replacement luggage, clothing and other items exposed to bedbugs at the hotel, the lawsuit reads. 

The lawsuit argues that the hotel knew about a prior infestation in the room due to previous guest complaints and did not tell the woman. 

According to the lawsuit, hotel employees told housekeeping staff at the hotel not to change the bed skirts on a regular basis or not to inspect them for bedbugs. 

The lawsuit also argues that the hotel did not train its workers to inspect rooms for bedbugs and management overseeing the bedbug infestations did not put proper policies in place to make sure guests weren't exposed.

Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, USA TODAY

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at@SaleenMartin or email her at[email protected].