Chicago Area Couple: Lumber Liquidators Flooring Made Us Sick
(CBS) -- Can your floor make you sick?
For the first time, a Chicago area couple talks about how their floorboards were loaded with formaldehyde.
Newlyweds Michael and Amber Robinson did a do-it-yourself floor make-over using flooring from Lumber Liquidators, the retailer now at the epicenter of an international consumer alert.
Their pride ended up being ripped apart, piece by piece.
"Instantly I noticed we started getting headaches, and then in August I was admitted in the hospital for severe asthma and shortness of breath," Amber says. "Chest pain and they couldn't figure out why."
They had dropped more than $2,000 for flooring from Lumber Liquidators. The company was the subject of a "60 Minutes" expose. The report showed some of the discounter's wood had extremely high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen.
Amber Robinson says her doctor says the flooring likely has caused her to get the autoimmune disorder lupus.
The Robinsons are now spending more than $8,000 to get rid of and re-do the floors. She says the retailer has not been responsive.
"We're maxing out our credit cards," Amber says. "It sucks."
The couple has retained a lawyer. Like many American homeowners, they wonder what the long-term fallout will be.
Lumber Liquidators did not respond to a request for comment.