Front Seat Recliner problems of the 1999 Saturn SL

I was turning onto a street that was down to one lane due to construction. The woman who let me turn onto the street "heard tires squealing" and thought I was speeding up (though I was not moving due to traffic inching forward Slowly) and she hit the gas to speed up. She rear-ended me so hard that even though my foot was on the brake, I hit the guy in front of me and at the same time my seat back fell backward onto the back seat (reclining position). When the seat reclined, it made it tricky to reach the brake, clutch or accelerator so I had to throw on the emergency brake to prevent any further bumper cars! the seat now seems to be "stripped" and the Slightest pressure makes it go "click click click" back to a reclining position. I am waiting for the part to come in to fix it but that accident could have been much worse if I did not have my head about me and hadn't been able to get the emergency brake on.