Sometimes a case requires a lawyer to fight tooth and nail all the way to trial and beyond. But sometimes a win comes from settling a case before it has even been filed, saving clients from years of litigation before they can be compensated for their injuries.

According to Michael Cuellar of Spector Foerst & Associates, the case he recently handled involving two men severely injured in a rear-end collision fell into the second category, where it proved to be more advantageous to settle even before the insurance carrier—the ostensible defendant in the case—retained counsel.