Botulism isn’t a word you associate with tugboat pilots. But botulism is what Odis contracted working for a tugboat company on the Mississippi River. Even though he’d dedicated half his life to his company, the company refused to take care of him, leaving him on Medicare. Medicare was about to pull the plug on him, but his family knew Odis was strong enough to survive anything life threw at him. They also knew the company was obligated under the Jones Act to pay for his medical treatment. So they reached out to us for help. We stepped in right away and helped make sure Odis got the best medical care possible. His family was right – he was strong enough to survive the neurotoxin.
After a little more than two years of work, we obtained a confidential settlement for Odis. He sat down with Brian and Lena to talk about how we helped him and what advice he has for others.
Odis: “Yeah – I really appreciate everything y’all have done. Brian, everybody. They’ve helped me out a lot and took care of me and everything.”
Brian: “So, Odis, one of the things we like to do at the end of these cases , uh, is kind of ask whether you have any advice, having gone through the lawsuit process and kind of seeing what happens. If you have any advice for anybody that might be looking at going through a similar situation as yours.”
Odis: “Hmm. Well, you know, I’d give them advice to contact y’all. That y’all are good lawyers, you know. That’s – I mean, I’ve had a lot of questions myself you know to ask about things and stuff that I couldn’t answer by myself if it wouldn’t be for y’all, you know. So I’d recommend ‘em, you know, to, as one of the things you know, to talk to y’all about it but – uh – the thing that I’ve got, that botulism stuff, is real rare. And I don’t know what to tell people other that just watch what they eat you know about that. Because I’ve been through a lot of stuff, you know that, and I wouldn’t wish this stuff on anybody.”
Brian: “Thank you again for – for – letting Lena and I represent you.”
Odis: “Well, thank you and Lena both, all of you, for helping me get through all this stuff. Y’all have helped me out a lot.”
Brian: “You happy?”
Odis: “Yeah, I’m happy.”
Brian: “Good. I’m happy for you. Good to see you, buddy.”
Odis, Boat Captain who contracted botulism on a tugboat, Lufkin, Tx