A Hollywood actress has filed a federal lawsuit against the Princess Cruise Lines claiming her room on a ship was infested with bed bugs leaving her covered in itchy, painful bites.
Connie Marie Flores, who appeared in Netflix’s Marriage Story, filed her lawsuit in the US District Court in the Central District of California, seeking general damages of at least $75,000 on multiple counts under both maritime and California law.
Flores and her husband Alvin took the Emerald Princess cruise from November 29 to December 4, 2018 from Los Angeles to Mexico and were appalled to find their bedroom teeming with bed bugs.
‘Imagine yourself on a cruise at sea with your stateroom infested with bed bugs. There was nowhere to go. We were trapped. We felt helpless. There were bed bugs coming out of the pillows and the mattress, we felt betrayed,’ Flores said in the lawsuit.
Actress Connie Marie Flores, who appeared in Netflix’s Marriage Story, has filed a federal lawsuit against the Princess Cruise Lines claiming her room on a ship was infested with bed bugs, covering her in alarming bites
Flores and her husband Alvin took the Emerald Princess cruise from November 29 to December 4, 2018 from Los Angeles to Mexico and were appalled to find their room teeming with bed bugs that left them covered in bites
The couple shared video of their room aboard the cruise ship showing the tiny bugs on the pillows and mattress
‘Imagine yourself on a cruise at sea with your stateroom infested with bed bugs. There was nowhere to go. We were trapped. We felt helpless. There were bed bugs coming out of the pillows and the mattress, we felt betrayed,’ Flores said in the lawsuit
Flores shared this picture showing bed bug bites on her forehead
The lawsuit includes video of the bed in Flores’ room showing blood spots on the pillows and bed bugs crawling under the mattress.
‘Unbeknownst to Plaintiffs, the Stateroom was infested with hundreds of bed bugs,” the lawsuit says. ‘The bed bugs latched onto the Plaintiffs while they slept and sucked their blood until they were gorged,’ the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit was filed by her attorney Brian Virag with the firm MyBedBugLawyer.
Flores revealed she and her husband woke up covered in distressing bites that were so severe, it landed her in the hospital.
Flores and her husband suffered ‘numerous bites and skin rashes, which caused pain, discomfort, annoyance sleeplessness, inconvenience, humiliation, anxiety and emotional distress,’ the lawsuit said.
After the bed bug catastrophe, the couple notified the ship’s staff about the problem. But they say ’employees and medical staff refused and delayed Plaintiff’s requests and ridiculed Plaintiffs and their injuries,’ the lawsuit claimed.
Flores and her husband Alvin were aboard the Emerald Princess cruise ship (file image above) traveling from Los Angeles to Mexico from November 29 to December 4, 2018 when they were bitten
An inside look at one of the cruise ship bedrooms pictured above
Princess Cruise Lines issued an apology to the couple in light of the allegations saying it is ‘committed to following and often exceed stringent sanitation and health guidelines’. However, the cruise line said that the rooms on the ship were cleaned twice a day and it would be ‘highly unusual’ for staff to not notice bed bugs. File image of bed bug above
Princess Cruise Lines issued an apology to the couple in light of the allegations saying it is ‘committed to following and often exceed stringent sanitation and health guidelines’, according to CNN.
However, the cruise line said that the rooms on the ship were cleaned twice a day and it would be ‘highly unusual’ for staff to not notice bed bugs.
‘It is worth noting, our room attendants are highly trained to identify bed bugs and ALL staterooms are thoroughly inspected each month as a preventative measure,’ the cruise line added.
‘After this ordeal, I wanted to advocate and bring awareness to people who get exposed to bed bugs. No one should have to go through what we experienced,’ Flores said.
The lawsuit accuses the Princess Cruise Lines of negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery, among others.
Flores says that the cruise ship knew or should have known about the bed bug infestation and failed to protect its passengers from physical and emotional harm.