If you have health insurance through a job, like many Americans make sure you check your employers's policy for something called a
subrogation clause.
It may make it much harder to ge help, and if you do sue, you would need to sue for more.
Basically, these days, some employer's health insurance providers may have 'first dibs', so to speak on any lawsuit, until their expenses on your hospital bills were covered.
Say you get injured and its not super serious, you can still work, you are only laid up for a few weeks. In your three days in the hospital they pay $50,000 for your hospital bill. Your bike is destroyed and you receive bills for $15,000 total.
You sue. You eventually settle for $5000 Your lawyer gets a third to a half.
If the award was larger your lawyer and you would split whatever remains after they get paid back. If is smaller, they might in some cases sue you for what they spent
. Its complicated, but from what I read, its common.
"subrogation" as is called
was in the news a few years ago when a woman, Deborah Shank-
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&s...eborah%20Shank
who was
driving a truck for WalMart was hit and given a permanent brain injury, then - her family sued and eventually won a lawsuit on her behalf. But that was not the happy ending.. as she actually ended up being sued by (by then former) employer WalMart for $475,000 in money they had spent on her medical care.
She could not work - she had permanent brain damage. So she was uninsurable also, but was in need of ongoing medical care. The award was no large enough to pay both.
Her husband was buried under the bills and they were not eligible for any kind of government help because he had a job and was still working. Rather than have Walmart PLUS the ongoing hospital bills take their home and every penny he made for the rest of his life, he divorced her.
Keep in mind that any kind of medical issue can make it hard to get insurance, and medical bills in the US can be very high. You might not be able to get a lawyer, or may be pressured to settle for less than what you need, and end up owing money like Deborah Shank. Others may be ahead of you in line for any lawsuit proceeds.
If I were you I would try to pursue every option available to you. Get a lawyer!