Earl's Story
“He Wanted to Provide for His Family.”
My husband’s name was Earl. He was a fantastic dad and a wonderful husband. He was a crane operator. He came home dusty a lot of times, but it was from the grain. Earl didn’t like shift work, but he had no choice but to work because he wanted to provide for his family.
Earl also did work at Mosaic, which is a chemical plant. They produce different kinds of chemicals there. Earl was in maintenance. He worked on repairing pipes and replacing the pipes that may have gotten broken.
Earl did not speak in the terms of him being exposed to asbestos because I don’t think Earl was aware of what was being handled over there. Mosaic or the chemical plants never warned him. Earl never mentioned that the people working there along with himself could be in danger of asbestos.
Diagnosis of Mesothelioma
“We Were Both Surprised. I Had No Idea What It Was.”
Earl had gotten sick late one Friday evening, so my daughter and I took him to the hospital. Earl was diagnosed with Diverticulosis because he lost a lot of blood and the blood was like tar. Earl stayed in the hospital one month and there were different things that the surgeons were trying to do to keep him from coming home with a colostomy.
He went to the surgery room three times. First, they tried to do a laparoscopy, but that didn’t work. Then, they went through his groin, but that didn’t work either. The last surgical procedure, they cut him in his abdomen and found fluid on his left side.
After they drained the fluid off his left side, they were able to repair his small intestines without him having to come home with a colostomy. In the meantime, he was open enough for the doctors to see that he had two nodules on his left side. One was the size of a marble and the other was the size of a golf ball. So they removed it and sent it off to be tested.
When the results came back, his doctor called me the next day and told us that he had mesothelioma.
Impact on Our Family
“My Kids and I Was in Disbelief”
After the diagnosis, the doctor said they could no longer do anything for him because it had progressed a lot and they would not put him through chemo because he could leave quicker with the chemo. So the doctor was just going to let him live on his own without treating it because it was too far gone.
The grandkids were in disbelief because they were close with their grandfather. They would watch football and basketball, and discuss the highlights of it. We just couldn’t believe it.
We couldn’t believe what the doctors were telling us. They wanted to put him in a facility and that was during the time of Covid. I told them no way, because after they were telling me about Covid and the facility, I would not have been able to see him. If I was to see him, it would have to be through a window. I did not want that for him.
I had Earl come home. I had his doctors set up our home with Clarity Hospice. Earl was comfortable. He didn’t eat very much, but he was quite comfortable being in his own home and watching his cowboy shows. He enjoyed that and then the kids would come by and keep him company.
Earl went to the hospital October 1st, 2020, came home November 1st, 2020. Earl passed away February the ninth, 2021.
Reluctance to Seek Legal Help
“I Was Hesitant. I Was Reluctant.”
I was reluctant to speak to a lawyer due to the fact that I watch some lawyers on the television, and they’re not honest. My son was a little hesitant as well. My biggest reluctance with calling a lawyer was that my husband was never one to say that it wasn’t his fault. He was never, ever one to say that I’m going to have to sue that guy. That was not his thing. He just wanted to continue to live a comfortable life without being in it for the money. That was always him from day one.
The First Contact With Baron & Budd
My husband and I watched TV together a lot, and a few commercials came on with different law firms. My husband preferred Baron and Budd and I asked him why. He said because they speak with honesty. After my husband passed, I thought about the conversations that we had about Baron and Budd and I made a call one afternoon.
I was so afraid to say anything on the phone. I couldn’t get my words together. The young lady who did take my call put me in touch with one of the lawyers from Baron and Budd. We talked and he made me comfortable on the phone. He asked me some details and then he said, “Well, me and another partner are going to come out. You don’t have to come to us. We will come to you.” I was happy about that. He eased my anxiety of them coming by and speaking to myself and my son.
Experience with Baron & Budd
I had no idea Baron and Budd was going to be as great as they were. Them coming here were great. I felt comfortable with them. We sat and we talked and I was very comfortable with the conversation that they presented to me. I was very comfortable with my choices.
I don’t normally care to talk about situations because I’m private, but in this case it was different. I felt as though I knew them. That’s just how comfortable I was in my own home and they were there listening to the story of how my husband acquired mesothelioma.
The lawyer that really worked on the case, he stuck by us. He kept us informed. He didn’t misstep. He didn’t do things to the point where we didn’t know what he was doing. I was adamant about him speaking to my brother-in-law, and Chris Colley explained to me that he was going to handle it in a way that made my brother-in-law comfortable. Chris kept his promise and I appreciate that a lot.
Outcome of the Case
“Son, You Need to Build You a House”
Our case was settled. My daughter and son were extremely satisfied with the outcome. They were surprised as to what we received. My son decided to build a house. While my son was living with me, he said he woke up one morning saying that he had a dream that dad came and spoke to him and he said, “Son, you need to build you a house.” So he kept that with him and he decided after we started receiving the compensation, he would build a house in honor of his dad.
Advice for Others
“I Would Recommend Baron & Budd to Whomever with Mesothelioma Asks Me About a Law Firm”
If I was to give advice to someone after talking with them and they said that a relative of theirs passed away from mesothelioma, I would say without hesitation, call Baron and Budd. And then I said, well, I’m not going to go into details. I would prefer you to call Baron and Budd and speak to them and let me know how you think about it after you speak with them and maybe we can talk some more. That’s it. That’s how comfortable I am with Baron and Budd.
