How Should I go about suing for a first time car accident?

I was in a car accident at the end of October. I was sitting in the front passenger seat and as we were crossing a major intersection a van ran their red light and hit my door. The car was totaled. Another driver who saw the accident called 911. We were taken to the hospital and I suffered a right shoulder separation grade II where my ac ligament is torn and half of my cc ligament is also torn. I saw an Orthopaedic Dr. 3 times and he assured me I do not need surgery right now. My friend's insurance covered $2500 of medical bills and now I owe $1500 to the hospital that's not counting the ortho Dr.'s bill which hasn't come yet. I am summoned to go to court in Jan. '09 because the police is prosecuting the guy for running the red light, but I want to know how to proceed because I am a grad student. I do work study and I lost a lot of hours not working and classes as well since the accident and I haven't been able to use my right arm fully and won't be for a while. I am still in a lot of pain and I do take pain medication the Dr. gave me. So what do I need to do to sue this guy? The police didn't take a statement from me and I haven't been contacted by the guy's insurance so Iam at a loss on how to proceed. Thank you for your help. - Is this your question? Add additional information