A commercial pilot has filed a lawsuit against Marriott International after he was bitten by bats during a stay at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel in Denver, Colorado, and subsequently required rabies vaccinations that cost him $100,000.
Incident at Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel
The 46-year-old pilot, whose name has not been disclosed, was staying at the hotel on August 29 last year for training. According to court documents filed by his lawyers at Lomena Law, he was awakened at 2:30 a.m. by a swarm of bats flying around his room. The bats bit his feet during the incident. In the morning, he found a bat clinging to the curtains.
The pilot attempted to block a hole in the room's air conditioning system with a towel, believing that was how the bats entered. When he complained to hotel staff, the hotel did not move him to another room. Instead, staff advised him to get vaccinated against rabies, warning that several bats in the area were known to carry the disease.
Rabies Vaccination and Lawsuit
The pilot received rabies shots at his home in Anaheim, California, costing $100,000. The lawsuit states that Marriott offered a settlement, but the amount was insufficient to cover the medical expenses. Attorney Edward Lomena said his client was deeply shaken by the experience and feared for his life due to the potential rabies infection. 'Imagine you’re sleeping in a hotel room and you wake up and you see bats flying around. That’s scary,' Lomena said.
Metro has contacted Marriott Hotels for comment on the lawsuit.
