Steering Rack And Pinion problems of the 2003 Ford Ranger

2003 Ford Ranger VIN 1ftyr10d73pa24521 I was driving home from work at night. It was raining lightly. I was driving between 30 and 35 mph. I hit a pothole with my left front wheel. I lost control of my vehicle and was not able to regain control. After swerving back and forth a few times my vehicle struck a light pole and stopped. The police officer, my coworker who stopped to see if I was ok and I were able to locate the pothole. It was big but not huge, maybe 16" in diameter and 6 to 7 inches deep at its deepest point. The repair shop called me a few days later and reported that the impact with the pothole had broken the rack and pinion steering system on my vehicle. My insurance company agreed to pay for repairs estimated at $7591. The repair shop has begun work. They were not able to retain the steering box because Ford needed it as a core. I contacted Ford. They only replied that they are very busy and will get back to me. It has been more than two weeks.