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Personal Injury Cases and Mediation
Personal injury cases are often expensive and time-consuming when they go to court. A personal injury attorney may advise you to mediate your claim to avoid the lengthy process of litigating the claim. Mediation is an effective, efficient way to settle a personal injury claim to the satisfaction of both parties.
During mediation, all parties involved in the matter meet at a specific location with a neutral third party mediator. The mediator has no opinion or decision-making power. His role is to facilitate a discussion between the parties regarding the issues to assist the parties in arriving at a mutual agreement to settle the claim. Mediation is usually an informal process where the parties are free to state how they view the matter. Anything said during the mediation is private; therefore, parties are encouraged to be open during mediation. Mediation promotes a genuine discussion of the issue to resolve the matter without the necessity of court intervention because the conversations during mediation are private. Mediation is not a matter of public record and what is said during mediation cannot be used against the parties in court.
Mediation is becoming more and more popular with litigants because of its many benefits. One may have a better chance of getting terms closer to what you have requested when the other party is sitting across from you. Also mediation is typically less expensive than filing a lawsuit and going to trial, and can also result in a quicker settlement of your claim which means you receive compensation more quickly.