By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — The Waldorf-Astoria has been hit with its third lawsuit by a guest claiming that she was a victim of bedbugs while staying at the ritzy hotel.
Svetlana Tendler, a stay-at-home mom, claims that the bugs ravaged her when she stayed at the hotel on a family vacation in August 2007, making hers the earliest reported case of Waldorf-related bedbugs thus far, according to Gothamist
Two other lawsuits were filed against the hotel for bedbug bites guests obtained while staying at Waldorf in 2010.
Tendler’s lawyer claims that she waited so long to file the suit because she was hoping that the Waldorf would reimburse her for the medical costs she incurred after getting the bites, which caused "a serious infection and significant prominent scarring," according to the website.
"For the last 3 years I tried to recover from the bed bugs incident and forget about it," Tendler told the blog.
"But I felt like something very important was taken from my life that night and was never returned. I felt like I was eaten alive by bed bugs which have attacked my body."
Her lawyer, Irina Lust, also spoke to the blog, saying, "My client is terrified of staying at hotels after the incident and always carries bed bug spray, a magnifying glass and a flashlight to help her locate bed bugs whenever she is forced to stay at hotels. Mrs. Tendler developed anxiety and sleep disorders. She is always scared that she might bring bed bugs back to her family home after staying at a hotel."
Tendler claimed that she told the Waldorf’s staff of the critters the morning after her second day in New York, and the manager offered her an apology and a discount on her room, asked to take photos of Tendler’s bites, and put the bug that she had brought to the manager in an airtight bag, Gothamist reported.
After checking out, Tendler and her husband heard from the Waldorf saying that no bugs were found in their room.
When contacted by DNAinfo, Waldorf-Astoria representatives declined to comment on the pending litigation.
