Delta Flight Attendant Sues Westin Bonaventure Over Bedbugs Infestation

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A Delta flight attendant is suing the Westin Bonaventure, alleging she was bitten by bedbugs during her stay at the iconic downtown Los Angeles hotel in 2014.

Ritchie Chery's Los Angeles Superior Court claims she was awakened "with severe itching and burning" during her stay and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in her lawsuit, which was filed Friday.

According to the complaint, Chery checked into her Bonaventure hotel room on Nov. 5, 2014. Weary from traveling, she unpacked, took a shower and went to bed, according to the lawsuit.

"Barely an hour into her slumber, she was rudely awakened…with severe itching and burning all over her body, including on the right side of her face, her arms, her left index finger and down the side of her right thigh," the lawsuit says.

Chery claims she was bitten about six to seven times before she turned on the lights and found about five bedbugs on the bed and blood spots on the sheet.

"She immediately notified the hotel management and took pictures of the bugs," according to the lawsuit.

A hotel security employee arrived and confirmed the presence of the bed bugs, as did a manager who apologized to Chery, the suit alleges. Hotel management transferred her to another room and gave her alcohol preparation for the bites, but she was so traumatized that she sat awake in a chair, afraid to fall asleep, according to the lawsuit.

Chery says she had to throw out all of her clothing, including her Delta uniforms, that were exposed to the bedbugs.

"As a result, she left the hotel to go back to the airport that day with essentially none of her belongings," according to her lawsuit.

After returning to her Georgia home, Chery sought medical treatment and was given a cream for her skin as well as pills to help her sleep, according to her suit, which says she has scarring and discoloration from her ordeal.

"For months after the incident, she suffered from severe insomnia and still experiences anxiety when sleeping, especially when staying in hotels," according to the lawsuit.

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