Why Mediation Is Ideal For Your Personal Injury Settlement
Posted on: 10 December 2018
If you have suffered an injury caused by another person's negligence, you may want to consider mediation when settling your case. Settling a personal injury claim through the court system can be stressful, so mediation is an ideal option. Here are some things to know about mediation for your personal injury case.
Who Is the Mediator?
The mediator is the person who acts as a facilitator between you and the liable party. A mediator is a specialized attorney who has achieved special certification as a mediator by the Bar Association. The mediator should be an unbiased party with no vested interest in who wins what in your case. He or she is simply there to help navigate the process as you and the defendant work out how you will settle the case.
Both you and the defendant have to choose the mediator if you go this route. If you cannot agree on the mediator, the court will choose for you.
What Happens at a Mediation?
The mediation has a somewhat formalized process. The process begins with your injury attorney providing an opening statement, followed by an opening statement by the defendant's attorney. The opening statement states your argument and details why you should win a settlement. The attorneys may opt to use various visual aids to help emphasize their points.
Once the opening statements have concluded, each attorney will take turns speaking on different points of the case. The mediator will listen to the information as each side speaks. The goal of mediation is for each side to come up with their own agreements. The mediator will not have a hand in making the final decisions, but he or she will provide an opinion as to how the case should settle. You and defendant will make the final decisions. If you do not like how your mediation turned out, you have the option to go through mediation again, or you can move your case to court for a judge to decide.
Why Are Mediations Beneficial?
The best benefit to mediation is that you have a hand in how your case turns out. You and the defendant will negotiate your stances and make the determination as to the amount of the settlement. If you go to court, you are at the mercy of the judge as to whether or not you would receive anything. Additionally, mediation is also significantly less expensive than a court trial. Mediations are also much faster than going through the court.
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