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Home :: FAQ :: Personal Injury

What is a Mediation?

Mediation is a supervised settlement conference presided over by a qualified, certified and neutral mediator who suggests alternatives, analyzes issues, questions perceptions, uses logic, conducts private caucuses, stimulates negotiations between opposing sides and keeps order.
Mediation is also a docket and litigation management tool which has proved successful in securing a high percentage of settlements on an amicable basis without the expense, exposure, and uncertainty of trial.  Mediation has proven to be most effective when it is conducted within 45 days of the scheduled trial date, when discovery is substantially complete, and the parties are fully informed as to their respective positions.  So, if you have seen any new physicians or have received any new bills, please let us know.
The mediation conference is conducted either in a courtroom or conference room.  During the mediation process, private rooms or offices are made available for individual “caucuses”, meetings, if you will, and conferences.
The mediation process itself is intended to be informal in nature, which the actual ebb and flow of the process is structured by the mediator.  Unlike arbitration, which results in an award and possible judgment, the only result of the mediation conference is the agreement of the parties.  Although the mediation process is inherently flexible, as a rule, the following guidelines apply to the conduct of the mediator:
The mediator will:

  1. Be impartial.
  2. Suggest alternative.
  3. Have private meetings or caucuses with the attorneys, parties, corporate          representatives and claims professionals.
  4.  Assist in clearly identifying the issues.
  5. Privately debate each side’s logical basis and perceptions.
  6. Respect confidential and/or privileged information.
  7. Allow the parties to negotiate.
  8. Guide the parties and counsel in finalizing a specific settlement agreement.

The mediator will not:

  1. Act as a judge or arbitrator.
  2. Rule upon questions of fact or law.
  3. Render a decision or award.
  4. Hear testimony.
Trial counsel and the parties, to include corporate representatives and necessary claims professionals, are required to appear and participate in the mediation process, and must attend the conference with complete authority to compromise and settle the action.  Participants are required to remain and participate in the mediation conference until a settlement is reached, the parties, with the consent of the mediator, agree to continue the mediation conference to a date certain prior to the regular schedule trial date, or the mediator declares an impasse.  As a rule, the mediation process usually lasts somewhere between 2 to 5 hours.