5 Things to Expect in Personal Injury Mediation
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Many personal injury lawsuits are now mediated—some due to a judge’s mandate and others by choice of the parties in dispute. If you are getting ready to mediate your personal injury settlement, here are five things you can expect out of the process.
- Expect the offer to start out low. Mediation is a process of negotiation, so if the initial offer placed on the table is low, don’t immediately give up on the process. Continue to participate in negotiations until the other side has reached an offer that you feel is fair and is an offer that you can live with.
- Expect to hear terms that might need an explanation. While mediation is an easier process (by far) than litigation, there will likely be terminology that is used that could be unfamiliar to you. For this reason, many people bring their own attorney with them during mediation. However, if an attorney does not represent you, the mediator you choose will be able to offer explanation to you if there are any terms or “legalese” that confuses you.
- Expect the process to take more than one session. Although mediation can potentially resolve a conflict in one setting, it often doesn’t. Some mediation sessions take a few hours, while others take a full day or multiple days to complete. This is because the process of mediation involves making and receiving offers, as well as private time with the mediator discussing options.
- Expect compromise. With mediation, compromise is crucial in resolving an issue.
- Expect communication. Communication, as the most vital tool for making mediation work, is the primary goal in mediation. Therefore, if you want personal injury mediation to work for you, it is important that you enter into the process expecting to communicate openly about the issue causing the dispute. For example, if the personal injury resulted in a lot of suffering beyond physical (potential loss of job or potential loss of future income), it is important to communicate these facts during the mediation sessions.
