CHARDON, Ohio — In the past two months, Eddie and Jennetta Marotta have been doing a lot of counting, mainly counting their blessings.
Their dad Joseph Marotta is still living after a motorcycle crash that could’ve killed him.
“A lot of his injuries, if they were a quarter-inch up or down his spin he could’ve been permanently paralyzed,” said Eddie Marotta.
Back in September, Joseph Marotta was riding his motorcycle on Mayfield Road near Aquilla in Chardon, according to a Geauga County Sheriff’s Report, a drunk driver pulled out in front of Joseph and the crash left him hospitalized with far too many injuries to count.
Marotta’s family members said the man who hit him did not have auto insurance.
“He [Joseph] has a completely shattered pelvis, that was in multiple floating pieces and doctors had to surgically repair it,” said Eddie Marotta. “He also had a shattered tailbone which doctors repaired at the same time as the pelvis and they are chained together.”
More than two months later, Joseph Marotta is learning how to walk again but family members said his medical insurance isn’t covering it.
“He’s being denied access to physical therapy because he can't stand,” said Eddie Marotta. “He needs to physical therapy to be able to stand, but because he’s non-weight-bearing the insurance company hasn’t been granting him coverage.”
Family members told News 5 that Joseph Marotta is covered by Medical Mutual insurance. News 5 reached out to the company and a spokesperson responded informing us that the company does not comment on active cases.
His family said Marotta is losing a lot of money paying for physical therapy out of pocket right now, but money isn’t the only thing that Marotta lost recently.
“The job that he worked at just let him go and took him off of their insurance,” said Eddie Marotta.
Now, Joseph Marotta is unemployed and paying for his personal insurance plan.
While the family continues to plead for coverage, they’re hoping the public donates to his GoFundMe account.
“He’s so strong, I don’t think that I could’ve made it through anything like this,” said Jeannetta Marotta. “I look at him all the time and the obstacles that he has to overcome still.”
