Lawsuit accuses Extended Stay America in Tamarac of bed bug infestation

Kimberly Stone said she woke up itching from bed bugs

TAMARAC, Fla. – Kimberly Stone woke up itching when she stayed at the Extended Stay America in Tamarac in 2014.

"I woke up in the middle of night and I was scratching really badly," Stone said. "The following morning I was covered head-to-toe in bites from, like, my neck all the way down to my ankles. They were obviously bed bug bites."

Stone, a professional poker player, was in town to work a tournament at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

Three years later, she said, she has permanent scarring from scratching the bites that covered her body.

She said when she showed the hotel staff her injuries, they offered to switch her room and told her to visit an urgent care.

"They were not surprised, and that was my main reason for being extremely upset," Stone said.

Stone said she saw the staff simply change the sheets in her room, with no effort to exterminate the problem.

She has since hired an attorney, who shared with Local 10 News photographs of bloody stains on the blanket. They said the picture is proof of a bed bug attack. 

"When she woke up in the morning at that hotel, she was being attacked by bugs," attorney Brian Pakett said. "There's no doubt about it."

Pakett filed a complaint claiming that the hotel was negligent, alleging management knew of the bed bug infestation and failed to treat the problem or notify guests. 

Online reviews from other guests also mention bed bugs at the hotel.

"She has seen proper doctors, dermatologists, who have told her these scars are not going away," Pakett said.

Local 10 News visited the hotel in Tamarac after calls and emails weren't returned. It was there that an employee said to contact the corporate office because no one on site was able to speak to the media.

Local 10 News attempted to contact the hotel's corporate offices several times over a period of weeks, but nobody has returned the calls or emails.

Stone said wants to warn others about the problem.

"I feel like someone needs to take responsibility for it and tp say, 'We are sorry that this happened to you,'" Stone said.