If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be considering bringing a personal injury lawsuit. But how do you know if you’ve really got a case?

It might be worth your while to contact an accident attorney to discuss whether or not you are entitled to recover compensation for your injuries. Some points to ponder:

Was Your Injury Due to Someone Else’s Negligence?

Negligence is the legal term describing careless behavior that causes or contributes to an accident. Generally, all people have an obligation, or duty, to act with ordinary and reasonable care in any given situation, and someone is considered negligent when he fails to do so. In most personal injury cases, a person must be found negligent in order to be held responsible for someone else’s injuries.

Did You Suffer Quantifiable Damages?

Most personal injury damages are intended to compensate the injured person for their loss. To recover monetary damages, you will need to put a dollar value on your injuries, which may be relatively easy for property damage or medical bills, but it may more difficult to quantify pain and suffering and emotional distress.

Were You at Fault (Even Partially) For Your Injury?

Sometimes an injured person’s role in causing an accident can decrease their recoverable damages. For example, if you were partially at fault for the accident that resulted in your injury, your damage award might be diminished if you live in a comparative negligence state that awards damages according to degree of fault. In a small number of states that adhere to the contributory negligence standard, you may not be able to recover any compensation at all if you’re found to be even only slightly to blame for the accident that caused your injuries.