John_V 

First of all, I am glad that your injuries were not more than what they were and that you are doing well. I'm also sorry to hear about your bike.

If California considers a bicycle a vehicle, and the crash did not happen on private property, the police have a duty to respond to the crash, even if they are "too busy". Since an ambulance did respond, you at least have some record of the incident actually happening. I hope that you retained the names and contact numbers of witnesses and the driver of the vehicle as well as her insurance information. You can put in a claim to her insurance company to compensate you for medical bills (if any) and the replacement cost of your bike just as you would if it was your car that was involved. Even in California, rear-end collisions are not always cited to the driver striking the vehicle in front of them. In the Uniform Traffic Code, which all 50 states adhere to, if a vehicle enters your lane, effectively decreasing your ability to come to a safe stop and causes you strike that vehicle, that is considered an improper lane change and the fault goes to that driver. In this case, since there is no police report, a witness(s) statement is extremely important for you to prevail, especially if one of them heard her say that she pulled into and stopped in the bike lane to make a phone call.

Since serious injuries were not present, I don't know if getting an attorney would be prudent in your case since their fees would outweigh your recovery. The advantage that an attorney would have is to subpoena the 911 call to see if the caller explained the events that lead up to the collision. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't seek legal advice if you want to. If all else fails, you can take the driver to small claims court to get compensation for the damage to your bike.