If you've been injured in an accident, you might think that the next step is going to court to get what you're owed. While it's certainly possible for a personal injury claim to end up in a dramatic courtroom trial as you'd see on TV, most cases settle before they get to that point. Here's how you should decide whether you should settle.

Can You Pay Your Bills?

After a car accident, you might have medical bills and car repair bills piling up plus other normal bills that you could fall behind on if you're having to miss work and not getting paid. If you absolutely need money now, it can sometimes make sense to settle and avoid the late penalties and other consequences that come with not having enough cash.

Of course, insurance companies and defense lawyers sometimes try to take advantage of this and lowball your settlement. You need to do the math and talk to your attorney to make sure the settlement is a fair trade for getting paid sooner and not waiving too much of your claim.

What Are Your Chances of Winning?

No attorney can make any type of guarantee that you will win your case. However, some cases clearly have a higher chance of winning than others. In some accidents, there are only two drivers giving conflicting stories, but in others, there might be multiple witnesses and videos of the accident.

Your attorney can give you an informed explanation of how strong or weak your case is. In addition to how much evidence there is, there might be specific laws regarding whether or not you can collect for certain things in different situations.

From there, it's a math problem. If your attorney thinks it could go either way, you might want to accept a settlement for half of what you think your case is worth. If you have a strong case, you probably don't want to settle for only a small percentage of what you think it's worth. If you have a weak case, you might be more likely to take a lower offer.

What Will it Cost to Go to Court?

Most personal injury attorneys only charge you if you win, but there may be higher costs for going to court versus settling. If the extra costs outweigh the difference between what you can settle for versus what you think you can get a trial, you may end up with more money if you settle sooner.

To learn more about whether you should settle your car accident claim, visit a website like https://www.bangelaw.com/ today.