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Perhaps you’ve heard about people who have taken the route of personal injury mediation instead of going through a trial. Do you know what it is? If you don’t, here’s the basic definition: this type of mediation is an informal settlement meeting of the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) who are involved in a personal injury lawsuit. It’s a mandatory step in Ontario that must be completed before a case is allowed to go to trial.
About the Mediation Meeting
The personal injury mediation meeting is held in a conference room. A professional mediator must be in attendance and is there to makes sure communication goes as smoothly as possible, and all parties involved have an opportunity to speak. The mediator is supposed to be neutral and is someone lawyers on both sides have agreed upon.
The mediator has no legal power and makes no legal decisions. The purpose of the mediator is to help the plaintiff and defendant explore possibilities for a settlement. The meeting is mandatory. The following people must be in attendance: the plaintiff, the lawyer for the plaintiff, the defendant, the lawyer for the defendant and, of course, the mediator. Sometimes insurance adjusters are also present in the meeting.
Process for the Mediation Meeting
The process for the mediation meeting is semi-formal. It begins with introductions so everyone knows who is there and why. The mediator will introduce themselves and the purpose of the mediation will be explained. The personal injury lawyer will outline the plaintiff’s case. Both the plaintiff and the defendant are given the opportunity to tell their side of the story, and the mediator will later meet with the defendant to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the case. The mediator will also meet separately with the defense counsel to go over the strengths and weaknesses of their case.
During the meeting, it’s important the points each side is willing or not willing to negotiate on are clearly described. The goal of the mediation is for each side to give and take and eventually come up with an acceptable settlement.
After the mediation, there is a chance that the plaintiff’s and the defense’s lawyers meet on their own to discuss settlement and explore points of agreement and disagreement. The mediator also may meet with the defendant and the plaintiff on their own with their personal injury lawyers in Cambridge. It may take several meeting as options are offered and considered on both sides.
Each side will try to make the settlement benefit them the most. This is where the process of offers and counter offers can be time consuming. The process of mediation can be as fast as a few hours or as long as a few days. A settlement is not always the outcome of mediation, even if the case is solved. If there is a settlement, the plaintiff receives the funds within a few weeks after the personal injury claim is filed in court and the case closed.