Best-selling novelist Stephen King is suing his insurance company over a $10m policy intended to cover medical bills and lost income, his lawyer has said.

King claims that Commercial Union York Insurance failed to make the full payout after the writer was badly hurt when a van hit him in June 1999 while he was walking along a road in Maine.

The 53-year-old, author of best-sellers such as Carrie and Misery, has had several operations since the accident, in which his right side was crushed.

King's lawyer, Warren Silver, said on Tuesday that the $10m policy would not cover all of King's losses from the accident.

He put the cost of King's medical bills, future treatment and lost writing income between $65m and $75m.

'Pain'

"He is still experiencing pain on a daily basis," said Silver. "It is the position of the King family that these policies should cover this injury and financial loss."

King and his wife Tabitha have begun a legal battle to force their insurers to make good on the policy in Penobscot County Superior Court in Bangor, Maine.

The driver of the van involved in the accident, Bryan Smith, was convicted of aggravated assaulted and driving to endanger in the King incident.

He was found dead at his home in Maine last September.