It really depends on how much money you can put towards that debt each month. For someone making decent money, filing BK over $16k isn't worth it. For someone on disability whose income is $600/month, it could totally make sense.
I'm willing to guess that it would probably be better to get on a budget and start setting aside money and try to settle these debts on your own for a fraction of the balance. (This is what the company you were working with was going to do and you can just the same do it without them.)
The big reason not to file BK is that it can only be done every 7 or 10 years (depending on the chapter filed) and should someone file and then incur serious unmanageable debt (medical in most instances, the #1 reason for BK's) then they wouldn't have the BK option available. I have generally always been healthy and was hospitalized twice in my 20s and early 30s for very odd/rare conditions.
That being said, a BK on your reports for 10 years isn't as bad as it's made out to be. You just don't want to utilize it unless it's the last resort.
