Representing a New Haven man whose pleadings showed he had the misfortune of being in two car crashes in five months, plaintiffs attorney Frank Bartlett had a decision to make: File a consolidated lawsuit or two complaints.

The attorney, owner of Cheshire-based Bartlett Legal Group, made the decision to file one lawsuit on behalf of 29-year-old client Joel Contreras-Arteaga. He figured the move would allow him to bring both defendants to the negotiating table, and strengthen the odds of gaining a favorable result for his client.

"There I was, with the attorney for the driver in the second accident, putting pressure on the attorney for the driver in the first accident," Bartlett said. "You would not have had that dynamic if there was two lawsuits."