Do I need a defense attorney in a pedestrian claiming personal injury against a bicycle(me)

You need to immediately report this accident to you auto insurance company and request they appoint you a defense attorney.

Hire an attorney to defend you. You did not indicate whether you have any personal assets, you will need assistance in protecting what you have and minimizing the Plaintiff's claim as much as possible within the law.

Good luck.

If you have no insurance, none at all, not even homeowners insurance upon which to make a claim then you may want to wait until you are sued. Some of my colleagues may disagree but if the attorney who issued the demand letter does not think you are worth suing, he or she may not waste their time and resources on it. On the other hand, if you retain an attorney and answer the letter, then it looks like you are worth going after. Since you have no insurance, not even homeowners insurance, I suspect you have little in the way of assets anyway.

If you have Homeowners Insurance you should contact the carrier and report this to them as they will cover you for this event and provide you with an attorney to defend you. If you do NOT inform them of this claim against you they may try to avoid covering you for the accident as you are required to inform them of all potential claims against your policy as soon as you become aware of them. The failure to do so may give them an adequate reason to NOT cover or defend you. If you do not have Homeowners Insurance you could wait to see if you are sued and then contact an attorney, but the better practice would be to consult an experienced attorney now to see what can be done to protect you and your assets. Lastly, in New York your Automobile Insurance, if you have any, will NOT cover you for this event.

At this point there is technically no lawsuit pending against you unless you have been served with a Summons and Complaint. The attorney representing the pedestrian may not pursue the matter as you do not have enough assets to collect against. Therefore, a lawsuit mat never be filed. A possible course of action is to wait and see if you are served with a Summons and Complaint and if that occurs you should immediately contact an attorney.