Car Accident - Our Car is A Write Off

As I noted a few times already it was a VERY challenging week last week. We were nearly flooded which caused great anxiety. I missed cheap tickets to france due to my fear of flying. I've been called to Jury Duty preventing me from organising my next 4 weeks at work and lunch break chores. But worst is...

My partner was in a car crash. He is okay, but there was a scare of a spinal injury as his shoulder, head and back were sore and his arms numb-ish, so he was taken to the hospital by ambulance. After 6 hours in a neck brace at our FREE public hospital, with thorough checking and X-ray he was discharged with nothing major wrong. A huge huge huge relief.

Friends drove me to the accident, another friend took full charge of our car as I climbed into the ambulance and my mum took our daughter home with her so I could focus on my partner. This made me think a great deal about those who don't have support networks in their lives. For example the child I babysat the other night comes from a family who are new to Australia and haven't built their networks yet. Imagine her distress if something happened to her parents and she was cared for by a stranger or worst.. forgotten. 

Anyway my partner The Rambling Expat has a sore neck and shoulders, but no major damage that is evident at this time. He took 2 days off work to rest as it has caused him to be exhausted and sore.

The mechanics have deemed our car a write off... The back is fully smashed in, too damaged to be worth fixing. The labour and parts would cost more than the $5500 value of the car (Capitalisms compared to Eco-ism). The back panel is not just smashed in but also split in a couple of places. The wheels are affected and the doors and windows on the driver side refuse open any more.

My Brave Transporter - Bruised and Battered - Ready For The Trash Heap.

We are not insured but since it's deemed as the fault of the other person, his insurance company will need to pay our claim. So now starts the paper work and negotiations. 

The Incident: The Rambling Expat slowed down to 40 kms to allow a Blue Tongue Lizard to cross the road. He saw the car behind was about 30 meters away, but before he knew it, the big 4WD smashed into the back of our little city car. The Rambling Expat's head went forwards and then backwards fast and hard. Luckily we are real squares when it comes to seat belts.

We expect to received: 

$5000 for the car.

$75 for towing to mechanic.

$75 for towing to wreckers.
Storage costs for car sitting in mechanics yard.

We hope we will also be able to claim:

$150 for baby seat/child restraint as I will need to purchase a new one.

$300 (?) for ambulance fees. (Will definitely get a yearly $60 family membership now).

$33 for taxi home from hospital.

We now have to purchase a new car and babyseat to get by as our town does not have fantastic public transport. They have made great improvements but it's still not super duper yet. Riding our pushbikes in the monsoon season is not something I'm willing to do with a 3 year old on the back. The rains get too heavy to see properly and drivers often think they're urban cowboys. Just too risky. My mum is helping us out with the loan of her car at times and her service as our chauffeur for work drop offs.

I feel certain we will be at a financial lost and finding a new car is just not something I want to do. But it must be done and life must go on.

Ever been in a car accident or had your car written off? Any advice?