Front Seat Recliner problems of the 1996 Honda Civic

Both seat backs collapsed when our Honda was rear-ended. We (my wife and I) were stopped in a traffic jam (due to an accident ahead) on a downtown freeway (I-20 in monroe, la). We were rear-ended and knocked into the left lane where we travelled down the lane for several car lengths, then hit the guard rail and a car in the left lane (by that time, at a slow speed). The seat backs of both seats collapsed and we were laid back. I was driving and pulled up with the steering wheel to maintain control of the car, although we were in a skid. The head rest of the driver's seat also broke away from the seat back. My wife and I suffered only soft tissue damage in our necks and lower backs (strains and bruises), but I was wondering if the seat backs should have collapsed the way they did. The interior of the car was in tact and the rear crumple zones worked great.