I did hire a lawyer to represent me. Her insurance company would have happily and quickly paid just my medical costs maybe a pittance for the bike and my trouble if I had dealt with them directly. Once I hired a lawyer, they went into delaying mode, taking as long as possible to drag out the process. Fortunately I was able to absorb the financial burden without too much problem and wait them out. Had I been in a more fragile financial situation I would probably have been very tempted to accept one of their early settlement offers which would barely have covered what I had to pay out, let alone compensate me for my pain, my time and my lost property.