I, too, am of the get a lawyer contingency. I had a similar accident because of a dog and spent 2 days in ICU with 7 places that bled in my brain. I shudder to think how I'd be without having had on a helmet. No lasting effects--just had to stay home for a week and only watch television. Then 6 weeks with nothing to increase my heart rate.

The dog owner placed all the blame on me because, "my dog wouldn't have hurt you." I mainly wanted an apology--got none. I wish I'd have made him more responsible for his dog--who stills comes to the edge of their property and barks his head off at cyclists. He at least now is behind an electric fence. My only recourse after the fact was to report it to the sheriff's office for there to be a record in case another accident happened. BE SMARTER THAN I WAS.