After a life-changing accident, I went from being the person who helps everyone to being the one that needed the help. My name is Juliet. I am an EMT. I am a horse lover and most importantly, I am a mother. I live on a farm that’s about 124 acres. I have two horses named Silverbell and Peanut. My horses are family to me and when I am out riding, it gives me a sense of freedom and peace. We had one of those big upstate New York snow storms. Me and my boyfriend were going out to dinner. The parking lot was still covered in snow and ice. I ended up slipping and falling and breaking my ankle in two spots, separating my fibula and tibia. I’m 15 feet away from the car that I’m trying to get in, on the ground with a broken leg.
I could not ride my horses for about a year and a half. I couldn’t shower on my own or get to the bathroom on my own. There was a lot of emotional nights because I felt like I was a burden on my family. I couldn’t provide for my son. He was there taking care of me, which I am thankful for. But really, I’m Mom. I’m supposed to take care of everyone. I ended up saying, “Hey, I think I need to get some help for this situation because I don’t have the money to continue paying for the medical care that I’m going to need.” I was crying because I didn’t know what to do. And the jingle, 1-800-LAW-1010, came into my head at that moment. I remembered it right off the top of my head and I was like, okay, I’m just going to call. They assigned me my lawyer, Dan Dagostino, and my case manager, Megan, and they were able to help me out.
There was a huge stress lifted off of my shoulders. It wasn’t like going to some place where they’re just thinking about the money, but I felt that they really cared about me and my situation. I remember the day that he called me and he’s like, “I’d like to talk to you about the settlement. I’m going to need you to sit down.” And I was like, “Oh no, they denied it.” And I sat down and I was like, “All right, hit me.” It was 10 times more the amount than I expected. I was speechless. I was like, “Are you serious? Really?” Completely exceeded my expectations. Harding and Mazzotti had my back. I knew that me and my family were going to be okay.
It took me about a year and a half to get back on my horse again, where I could feel comfortable getting on my horse without hurting my leg. I was cautious. I didn’t want to go too fast. It was giving me a little bit of anxiety, but I kept telling myself I had to push through it. Later on, I cried because it had been so long and I was relieved that I could still do it. I can only imagine what it would have been like if I didn’t make that phone call that day. I would be in an enormous amount of debt and no way of getting myself out of that. I think I’m in a very good spot now since I’ve gotten the help from Harding and Mazzotti.
