She's represented by a FL personal injury lawyer. Contingency fee agreements, by definition, are contingent, lawyers enter into these agreements knowing full well they may never be compensated for their work. I doubt that her FL lawyer knows the ins and outs of NY (or is it CT?) bankruptcy law.
I'm sure he is consulting with the appropriate bankruptcy/collection attorney. I'm a personal injury attorney myself, I don't know the ins and outs of bankruptcy law. I know that if a Defendant files for bankruptcy, usually a stay would be entered in the personal injury case. I know that if a Defendant files for bankruptcy, oftentimes the Plaintiff in the personal injury case is limited to any associated insurance policy. In 50's case, there would be no insurance.
There are exceptions, a debt from a personal injury judgment stemming from drunk driving cannot be discharged.
Who knows how all of this is going to play out. It seems to be a shrewd maneuver on 50s part - but I just don't know enough about how all of this works.