In April, 2022, we anticipated bringing Steven's parents into our home & chose to replace the carpets in the 4 bedrooms with laminate flooring. We purchased brand-name click-lock laminate flooring from a trusted national home improvement retailer & began installation with the master bedroom. From the day we installed the flooring, our family had significant health issues which still linger today, 3-1/2 years later. Toni, who has Lyme disease, was only able to sleep in the room 3 days before having a significant adverse reaction. We knew laminate is made by gluing layers of paper & other materials together, & we read it would take a few weeks for the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) to dissipate, so Toni moved to the other side of the house, & we researched how to clear the air. (VOC = organic chemical compounds that readily evaporate & can contribute to air pollution & adverse health effects.)

Over the next few months, we did everything possible to remediate, from airing out the room with multiple fans in windows, using charcoal, purchasing special plants, & even investing in an Austin Healthmate Plus air purifier, which we were told would eliminate the VOCs. All to no avail. The air purifier was supposed to have a 5-year filter, but it only improved the odor in the room for a couple of weeks. None of the techniques worked.

We finally took the flooring out in June because by then, Toni had experienced a full Lyme relapse. Our daughter, Emily, was having headaches, general muscle weakness, & significant cycle disturbance. Toni’s symptoms of sleep disturbance through hypnic jerk, tremors, hot/cold spells, difficulty swallowing, stiff neck, headache, tinnitus, extreme fatigue, sore legs, burning sensation in her head & arms, memory lapses, confused thinking, being off balance, & weight loss returned after being in remission for 6 yrs. Toni & Emily also experienced their eyes burning. Steven had memory issues & headaches. His blood pressure increased by 40 points, & that battle, too, has continued until now as the toxic chemicals we absorbed are still wreaking havoc on our bodies.

We put the flooring in the garage with the rest of the flooring we had purchased, but the gases came through the door to the kitchen, & Toni and Emily still experienced immediate, increased symptoms of muscle weakness & headache whenever in the kitchen.

At that time, we returned the unused flooring for a full refund and, noting health concerns, filed a claim against the home improvement retailer for the cost of the flooring we had installed. They honored the claim immediately. The assisting representative informed us that they “never have any trouble with the manufacturer honoring claims for medical reasons” – it seemed to be a common thing.

By August, our symptoms continued to plague us, so we contacted the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. MDEQ provided us with a list of contacts to assist in having environmental testing done in the home. Over the next 2 years, we had 3 separate testing companies assist us. We discovered that our home has over 3x the VOCs that a home should have. The flooring released highly toxic chemicals into the air of our home which permeated the house through the HVAC & absorbed into all surfaces, including ceilings, walls, etc. All 3 environmentalists advised us that the only way to make the home livable again is to entirely gut the interior & rebuild. We also have lost our possessions, including family heirlooms & antiques that cannot be replaced.

In August, 2022, to protect ourselves from further exposure, we moved out of our home into Steven’s parents’ home. From 8/26/2022 through 9/17/2023, we commuted daily from Mobile, AL back to Hurley, MS (48 miles round-trip). On 9/18/2023, we moved in with Toni’s parents, a little closer to MS (28 miles round-trip). We still live with them.

Our first decision was to file with our homeowners' insurance, but the adjuster told us they have a “pollution exclusion” which allows them to deny claims for damages caused by items purchased for the home which off-gas. Chinese drywall issues of the early 2000s are the culprit for this.

Next, we began to search for lawyers to assist us. We needed a product liability lawyer who practiced in MS & would be willing & able to assist with an environmental case. Sadly, the first 3 questions the lawyers asked were if anyone died, if there were small children in the home, & if there were any class action lawsuits. As the answer to these questions was no, we had many, many negative responses. Finally, we spoke with a lawyer who indicated they would assist us if we would file a claim against the retailer & gather evidence needed to go to court.

We began collecting data, but this was a long, frustrating process. A highly reputable agency tested the air to see what chemicals are in our home – there were several dangerous gases, but two in particular in high levels. The first company we used to test the flooring itself held us up for several months then said they lost the sample. Next, we bypassed this company & went directly to the testing agency. The results indicated that the same chemicals in the air in our home are also in the flooring. Their results showed only small amounts, however, and our contact at MDEQ agreed that the results were questionable, so he advised us to find another company to do the testing. Other companies, however, were completely unwilling to test the flooring as they refused to be involved in a lawsuit against a global manufacturer. Finding contractors willing to give a bid for remediation was another trial because so few contractors were willing to work in hazardous VOC conditions. It was a long process, & we were only able to obtain a quote from one contractor to send in with the claim.

When we finally were able to file the claim, the retailer passed it along to their third-party handler, & the third-party handler sent it back to the retailer, who then sent it to the flooring manufacturer, a world-wide retailer of all kinds of carpet and flooring. They sent the claim to their insurance company, who took many months to, in the end, advise us that they would not take liability for the damages to our home & our health directly caused by their client's product.

When the claim was denied, we called the lawyer who said they would help, but by this time we were 6 months out from the statute of limitations ending, & they said that it was too close for them to have time to build a case. We began calling lawyers again but without help until we reached out to a lawyer in Jackson, MS, who said he could assist us. He indicated that he believed he could file a successful case against our homeowners’ insurance company. He gained access to all the testing information & our health records, & he continually made promises to us about filing a suit until 2 weeks before the statute of limitations ended. Then he stopped returning all calls. We never heard from him or any of his paralegals again.

We were all immediately sick from the day we installed the flooring. The testing showed that the VOCs which have saturated our home are also in the flooring. Bloodwork corroborates that our health has been adversely affected by chemical exposure. Our family has developed a sensitivity to chemicals which prevents us from living in or owning a new home. When we are exposed to new building materials, we have immediate reactions. Even when our home is rebuilt, we won’t be able to live there; we have lost a home we loved where we lived for ten years & where we have neighbors who are dear to us. Here we are … still paying the mortgage, unable to live in our home, & unable to do anything now but ask for help.

WHY NOT JUST FILE BANKRUPTCY & WALK AWAY? We care about the people who will own the home next. If we were to walk away, the bank would not do what is necessary to remediate, & the next owners would become very ill from the toxic VOCs in the home.

The contractor who gave us the original bid backed out, but we were thankful to find a new contractor this year who is willing to assist us. They are well respected on the Gulf Coast, & we have had positive experience with their work in the past. They have given us a bid to do more than the first contractor at a lower cost. The total for mitigation and rebuild is $248,510.00.

This road has been difficult. First & foremost, our health has been compromised. Next, even with much help from dear & loving friends, we paid thousands in testing, different attempts at remediation prior to moving out of our home, & healthcare. Since then, we have incurred debt due to living a distance from work that was beyond our budget. We have lost over 3 years of living in a home for which we are still paying the mortgage but cannot live in (nor can anyone until mitigation and rebuild is accomplished). Although we have lost the bulk of our possessions, the Lord mightily humbled us through the goodness of loved ones & friends who have provided for the most expensive of those needs, the furniture. We'll never be able to repay the love we’ve been shown by so many in the last 3 years. May the Lord always be glorified through the good His children shine in this world!

We humbly ask your assistance. With funds raised, we prayerfully plan to remediate our home, sell it, then search for another. We wholeheartedly thank you for taking the time to read our story. May God bless you.