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How Are Personal Injury Claims Mediated?

Your personal injury lawyer may tell you that mediation is often a faster and cheaper way to obtain the settlement that you want and need. The best part is that mediation is relatively stress-free.

Personal injury lawyers have seen a general trend in terms of personal injury cases and claims. Fewer and fewer of them are going to court. More and more plaintiffs and defendants are choosing to use the mediation process as a way to resolve cases and claims!

The mediation process is a godsend for personal injury lawyers and (increasingly) for insurance companies. In fact, if you and the defense ever reach an impasse in your settlement talks, your personal injury lawyer may advise you to use the mediation route.

How does mediation work in personal injury claims and cases?

If you mediate your personal injury case or claim, you, your personal injury lawyer in La Puente, the defendant and his or her lawyer will sit down with a neutral third person and discuss the merits of both sides of the claim in detail. The process will continue until both sides reach an acceptable agreement. The mediator doesn’t influence the discussion process in any way.

Since the mediation process is informal and since both sides ‘split the bill’ you’ll find it to be a cheaper way to reach a resolution. Keep in mind that you can’t mediate unless the defendant agrees to it as well. The mediation process follows this general structure:

● You and the defendant will speak to the mediator when all parties and legal teams are in the room.
● You’ll speak directly to the defendant and vice versa. The mediator will simply supervise and manage the discussions.
● Both you and the defendant will speak to the mediator on a one-on-one basis.

The mediator then uses the information from both parties while keeping all information confidential to coax both parties to come to a mutual agreement in terms of settlement amount. You are free to say what you want during the mediations process and you don’t need special training to participate in a mediation.

You’ll find that professional mediators have extensive experience and education in primary and alternative dispute resolution. They are full-time paid employees. They generally worked as lawyers and judges before retiring. They hear business and property disputes and charge ‘through the nose’ for their services. They often have first-hand experience with personal injury claims.

Independent mediators tend to be either working or retired lawyers and judges. They charge between $150 and $300 an hour to mediate upon a variety of personal injury cases and claims.

Why you should mediate your personal injury claim

This may be your last resort in terms of obtaining the settlement that you want and need when you’ve exhausted other negotiation alternatives. You have a lot to gain. For starters, you can make your claim seem more humane and personal to the adjuster because you will be arguing your site of the claim in the same room that he or she is in. you don’t need to submit additional documents and/or evidence. Finally, you can ‘breathe fresh air’ into your claim by obtaining an opinion from a neutral and independent professional. This dramatically increases your chances of winning your settlement.

When you don’t want to mediate

The mediations process lasts only a few hours and is best suited for simple personal injury claims. It may not be ideal for more complex ones. Also, finding a mediation center where low cost or free mediators work may be difficult, if not impossible, to do! You may be forced to find a more expensive mediation center and unfortunately may end up paying most of your settlement money in mediation fees. Finally, insurance adjusters may have a hard time agreeing to attend these sessions.

Should you mediate or should you not mediate?

Consider meditating only in these circumstances:
● You and the other party/insurance adjuster are more than $3,000 apart in your desired settlement values.
● Neither party can agree on who was at fault
● You have exhausted all other negotiation alternatives

Winning a settlement through mediation is possible

It’s entirely possible to win a settlement through mediation provided you know the information discussed in this article and have hired a good personal injury lawyer.