Help Caz Get Back on the Road

Hey, y'all know me as Caz, and I live in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I'm fundraising to try to replace car. Without sugarcoating it, on February 6th, I was starting my delivery route. While sitting at a stop light, police were chasing a pedophile who drove into the active intersection, colliding with two cars, mine being one of them. I was hit from the front passenger side, which spun my car around. I did get what is qualified as a permanent injury, a slightly herniated disk in my lumbar and neck, but it's been nothing that's really impacted my quality of life, thankfully. I've been receiving treatment for it, so there's no concerns there.

In the time since the accident, I have been working with lawyers to pursue damages, but everything has been at a standstill for the last two months. I've pestered the insurance company many times, and have received no reassurance that I will be compensated for what should be an open and shut case. The only thing I have been told is that "the process has started, but it could take months."

In a few weeks, it will be the third month since the accident. In that time I've not been able to get back to the work I've been doing, making me lose a significant source of income. I've tried to apply to several jobs, and have either gotten a rejection or no response. At this point, I can't just hold out for a few more months, or god forbid a year, when it doesn't even seem like my compensation is guaranteed.

As it stands right now, I still owe $7,000+ on my car. To get my car repaired, they estimated that it would cost $9,726.84, and that is just the estimate. More than likely, my car will be declared totaled, and any compensation I get from that will have to go to the bank as the lien holder.

All in all, it feels more sensible to try to gather funds for a decent, used car so that I can continue working again as soon as possible. All funds collected will go to a down payment for a used car; $4,000 so that I can offset large monthly payments. Ideally, it would be great to raise enough to purchase a used car in full, but if I can only manage a decent down payment, that's better than nothing.