Submitted by ConsoleTechUS t3_z8tvna in washingtondc
I was recently assaulted in a metro car. I was sitting in a full car at rush hour in the morning when one attacker came up behind me, put his arm around my neck and yanked me out of my seat into his and started choking me while two other attackers came up and started attacking me. I lost consciousness and no one in the metro car did anything to help me.
They did this so they could steal my phone. Upon waking instinct took over and I ran after them to get my phone and was further beat, kicked and hit.
Luckily metro PD was able to arrest one of the attackers but two others got away and they were a huge help after the incident.
After this I went to the hospital and after 8 hours of various scans and tests I will have a very large hospital bill coming my way.
Is there any assistance from the city for victims of assault that actually help with $20,000 in medical bills?
Can I sue the assailant's parents (They are a minor) in small claims court for my hospital bills and missed wages during my recovery? If so, where would I begin with this?
Thank you for any help or advice.
Update for folks on my post: I originally used the word thug in my post to refer to the attackers. To me this word was as interchangeable as gangster, thief, criminal, robber etc. and could refer to anyone that commits a crime. Even president Obama has used the word as recently as 2015. But the mods informed me about how the word has essentially changed over time to have other connotations (https://www.npr.org/2015/04/30/403362626/the-racially-charged-meaning-behind-the-word-thug). They did not ask me to apologize or write anything about it, but I learned something today and now you have too. The only thing I have changed was that word in my post to attacker or a form thereof.