A claim for medical malpractice arises when a patient is injured because a healthcare provider’s care fell below the accepted standard of care. Many of these cases are litigated, but some may be mediated. People turn to the mediation process for the following reasons:
Opportunity for Improved Communication
In many malpractice claims, an underlying problem is a feeling of betrayal or mistrust. A patient may not have an understanding of what went wrong because the medical provider may be instructed not to provide any information after a medical malpractice claim arise. Mediation allows the parties to speak personally to each other without legal advisors blocking their communication. This allows the physician an opportunity to explain factors that affected the situation, unknown medical information or other unexpected surprises. Once the parties are able to relate to each other on a more human level, they are often able to reach a fair settlement.
Cost Savings
Medical malpractice cases are often very expensive to litigate. They usually rely on medical expert testimony and these experts may charge exorbitant rates to provide court appearances, report and other litigation support. The cases also involve extensive investigations and the review of thousands of medical documents. All of this makes medical malpractice cases very expensive. Parties can avoid many of these costs by going through the mediation process. The parties can split the costs of a mediator and quickly resolve their case.
Time Savings
Due to the complexities involved in medical malpractice cases, these cases often take years to resolve, and that is before any possible appeal. Mediation can resolve a case in a matter of days once the mediation schedule is set.
Confidentiality
A medical provider may not want others to know about a mistake he or she made. Patients may not want to worry about their medical records being publicly known. Mediation is a confidential process, so it can provide important privacy to the participants.
There are a variety of problems or disagreements that can arise when long-term care is being considered by a family. The family may need to decide on which facility is most appropriate for their loved ones, based on his or her abilities and access to loved ones. They may also need to decide on how to treat a family home or which assets to liquidate to pay for care. They may have disagreements about insurance coverage. While there are many different problems that can arise when considering long-term care options, mediation can successfully resolve many of them.
Libel or defamation cases arise when someone makes a negative, false statement about another person or business verbally or in writing. Mediation has been highly successful in the libel and defamation context for several reasons, including the following:
Cyber security cases can arise for a number of different reasons. These cases are often complex and involve special factors that must be considered by the parties and the mediator assigned to the claim. Some special considerations include the following:
Medicare disputes may arise when services are not provided under Medicare, billing issues are present, or an application is denied. Rather than drawing out the process through litigation, parties can agree to mediate their issue. Some ways that mediation can help with these types of disputes include:
Families who have a loved one in a nursing home may wind up in a dispute with a nursing home over billing issues, care provided, services, financial matters or concerns regarding abuse or neglect. Mediation is a cost-effective alternative to filing a lawsuit against a nursing home and can provide several advantages to parties.