I wish i had gotten a lawyer on some things that happened to me that made me miss a good couple of months of work i never got compensated for and for having pains the rest of my life.
Honestly, it comes down to it, work is work. Work is not friendships. Friendships are outside of work. If you let that get in the way of how you operate at work you will go down a bad path. What happened to you is business and you need money to compensate for it. You should be getting paid for the time off you have suffered. This is a LONG term disability. You should be getting around 100 pay for a short time and 60 percent or so for the remainder.
You really need to talk with a lawyer and start gathering this together to support your case. Trust me in a couple of years or even next year you will be kicking yourself for not doing it.
If you cannot do this type of work again you would need compensated for training of a new job/ schooling. It isnt about taking your employer to the bank, its about taking care of yourself and your family.