Long story short, the official reason is "failure to yield from a private estalishment" (ie. I didn't look one way when I pulled out of Wendies and someone hit me). We both hit our breaks, but in the end she got me in the wheel. Damage for her was relatively minimal: scratches and a broken license plate holder, as well as a headlight being shifted slightly upward. Other then that she could turn it on and drive away in it. Me, on the other hand: wheel was busted out of place (passerby said the bolts/rods were broken, not the actual axil) and the impact had made it so I couldn't open the driver door. Didn't try to start it up, however, so I don't know if that's the actual extent. As for me and the other driver, she wasn't complaining about any pain in her neck or what not, and I'm feeling okay too.
Overall, I guess I'm asking how "bad" this is going to be, repair and insurance wise. And if theirs anything else I can do before my court date or afterwards, besides avoiding such a dumbass mistake again.
God, I feel fucking terrible about all of this.
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[This is what's recommended by the Young Drivers Program, if any of you have heard of it.]
In an accident where there's no way you aren't at fault (like in this case), it's not that big of a deal. It's very (very) bad to do when it's even slightly more ambiguous.
http://www.thelostworlds.net/
Accidents are funny things. I was in a bad one around this time last year where a guy ran a stop sign and plowed in to me. At the time I was quite sore but when I went to the doctor I was relatively fine. The guy's insurance company wanted to pay me off but I held off because a lot of people told me back injuries from car accidents sometime don't become prevalent until a few months later. Anyways, I waited a month and still felt ok so I signed a release, got payed 2 grand and let it go.
Fast forward another month and I'm in excruciating pain. I can hardly move because my back is so screwed. I get checked out at the doctor and she says that it's definitely from the accident but I'm shit out of luck because I signed the release.
In short, you should hope that the person signs a release and settles with whatever your insurance company wants to give them.
And for something like this, id imagine youll be paying atleast another 100 dollars a month, especially since rates in ontario are so crappy to begin with, and youre probably young.
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SpeedySwaf, the insurance companies will take care of the repairs (if you have collision coverage) and you just have to worry about the deductible. Her car will be repaired at your insco's expense.
When you renew your insurance, you'll have one at-fault accident and one ticket on your record. If you're under 25 and have had a clean record up to this point, your rates will jump substantially. If you don't have a good record, your rates will go from stupid to much stupider. If you're older without accidents, it might not hurt too bad.
From what you said, there's not much to worry about at this point. You pay your ticket and deductible(s), then remember to bring lube when you renew your insurance. My experience is Canadian, but I write insurance software for a living (including figuring out how much to pay). If you have questions in that vein, feel free to ask.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.