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Personal injury mediation is a type of alternative dispute resolution that is both negotiable and voluntary whereby a case is taken to a third party called a mediator to enable you the opportunity to have an out-of-court settlement with the insurance company.
Through the use of a mediator, the two parties prepare in advance, the present their evidence in a bid to strengthen their claim. The mediator on the other hand offers advice to both parties on how to best solve the case, it’s good to note that he has no binding power like a judge but will help both parties to solve the matter easily.
Contact an experienced Denver personal injury lawyer about your case and schedule a free consultation today!
First is when the plaintiff and defendant voluntarily choose to solve the settlement demand issue out of court instead of going to trial. They try to see if they can come to a consensus to avoid the long hours of preparing for court hearings. The trial process can take time. It can take several weeks, months, or even years.
Secondly, in a court order, the judge can order the two parties to try and solve the matter through a mediator, who is trained in alternative dispute resolution and is impartial. If any of the parties declines to go for the mediation, then they are expected to pay the full amount of the mediation process.
The mediation process is less stressful compared to a personal injury trial. The environment at mediation is much more comfortable compared to when you go to trial.
This process takes place at a neutral ground where both parties have neither an upper hand nor a disadvantage. Most of the time the place of choice is usually the mediator’s office, but depending on the parties, this could take place at a hotel or a quiet room giving them space to think the issue through.
But before the mediation session begins, there are several things that should be done.
Get a lawyer to help you get a fair settlement when they represent you. You can go into a mediation session alone or you can choose to do it alone or with family. However, the presence of a lawyer is easier for you and your family, he understands the purpose of the case and knows the strategies of the defendant's attorney who is well vast with such cases and will go all the way to discredit your case.
Without preparation you may not get the settlement figure you want neither will you get fair compensation. How personal injury mediation work is through avoiding legal arguments and looking for a solution that offers a fair resolution to everyone involved. Even, so your attorney will carry out settlement negotiations and give a persuasive argument as to why you deserve the compensation claim you are asking for. You may have to compromise during the settlement process. Here is what to expect from this alternative dispute resolution method:
The mediator takes charge of the meeting, he or she introduces themselves to the parties and both parties also take the chance to introduce themselves to the mediator and to one another. People to expect in an accident mediation process are the plaintiff, a personal injury lawyer, the defendant, an insurance adjuster, also their roles in this mediation. The respected mediator should then take the time to lay out the rules of this informal process to avoid any dispute during mediation and allow for there to be an effective mediation process.
Parties wanting to have an agreement through mediation are required to sign a confidential agreement. What will be discussed in the mediation room will remain there even if after informal negotiations they go to trial. Information passed at mediation will not be used against any of the parties involved in the alternative dispute resolution process if they decide to take the accident lawsuit to trial.
Both sides are given an opportunity to bring their case, starting with the plaintiff through the use of a personal injury lawyer pass bring out their cases concerning the plaintiff and give evidence, all this is given so that the plaintiff can make an offer with a justifiable sum. Meanwhile, the insurance adjuster takes notes, after the personal injury lawyer is done, the insurance adjuster takes charge and gives their side of the bargain also giving an offer.
It is good to note that the plaintiff will give a large sum of money as compensation while the defendant will give a small amount of money. This should not scare you, it’s just a way to open up and a strategy to intimidate their opponent.
After offers are made, the parties are directed to different rooms. The mediator goes into both rooms separately to come up with a solution. The main reason for the separation of rooms is to allow for a tranquil manner of handling the case, where insults and escalating arguments can be avoided. Secondly, it is to give the mediator time to convince the parties into compromising their previous positions.
This does not necessarily happen on the first time, actually many times, it takes long, almost to the date of the trial that parties decide to let go of earlier offers and compromise to other offers. Due to the increased tension of the trial, parties are pressured into making a conclusion and finding a way out and do not end up with a reasonable settlement. Hence mediation meeting is meant to help.
However, this doesn’t have to be the case, some cases become so tiring and parties choose to avoid settling and they end up in court.
There are two ways personal injury mediation can go,
One it can end up solved with a win-win situation or it can end up in court.
In a win-win situation, the injured party and the defendant are able to draw closer to a settlement, and finally, end up making a bargain that favors both parties.
If this ends up being impossible to mediate then it ends up in court. The trial starts with both parties starting with the plaintiff presenting their case to the judge and jury who listen carefully to the evidence and presentation of witnesses to strengthen the case, then the defendant tries to discredit the plaintiff's case by presenting their case and witnesses through this, the jury and judge get a picture of the case and make judgment
Sometimes it may seem hard to distinguish between trial and personal injury mediation, but this is quite different and the advantages to mediation, far exceed those in a trial.
With mediation you determine how long it takes, this could at most be several encounters which could utmost vary from several days to a few months. While as for trial it takes months to several years depending on the complexity of the lawsuit.
With a trial, the judge is the final say and the word is biding, hence you are not able to have it your way unless the judge rules in your favor, but as for mediation, you have the chance to negotiate it your way rather than lose completely, plus most importantly you can even get a higher price than you expected.
The fact that you can decide whether to go for mediation or not makes it an advantage. In most instances, the court will not require you to attend mediation hence you can weigh the pros and cons of the settlement agreement and make a decision if it is the best option for you. In court, once you’re served it is compulsory for you to attend.
Mediation is the only place where a win-win situation is possible. Due to the negotiating nature of the process both the victim and at-fault party don’t waste a lot of time, they don’t spend a lot of money and are they able to discuss favorable terms in regards to the personal injury lawsuit.
There are people who attend the mediation process without a Denver personal injury lawyer, some are either incapable or are afraid to visit a lawyer without money because they do not know that most personal injury lawyers get paid on a contingency basis, while others totally avoid the fact. For example, if, a person goes to mediation with friends and family while the defendant comes in with several insurance adjusters and attorneys they are likely to get intimidated when seeking compensation benefits. An experienced accident attorney has will not easily get intimated and can t get you a favorable agreement for compensation.
A compensation lawyer is important when you are solving personal injury matters. The defense attorney will first explain to you how personal injury mediation works and will offer you legal advice depending on the case. A mediator is a neutral party but a personal injury attorney is always ready to represent your rights. Get a skilled negotiator on your side to help you and guide you through a successful mediation process so you can get maximum compensation for your personal injury claim.
