If you were to get injured in a motor vehicle accident, then you would need to contact your insurance company. If you were denied coverage, you would have good reason for getting an lawyer. At that point, the task of negotiating with the insurer would then become the lawyer’s responsibility. Based on those negotiations, your personal injury lawyer in Trenton might indicate that you can improve your chances for getting compensated by taking advantage of the process known as mediation.
What is mediation?
It is an informal meeting. Those men and women at mediation strive to reach a settlement. Their efforts at attainment of a settlement might entail use of a number of smaller meetings. Those meetings take place between two or more of these participants: the lawyer for the plaintiff, the plaintiff and the lawyer for the defense. Some insurance adjusters may also be present; their appearance displays their readiness to speak on behalf of the driver that the plaintiff has claimed to be “at fault.”
What happens while those present are mediating?
The lawyers from both sides realize that more than one path can be followed, going forward. Hence, the two of them explore the various possibilities. The legal representative from each side outlines his or her case. During that smaller meeting, the mediator lists the strengths and weaknesses of each case.
Once that process has been completed, the two lawyers meet with the mediator. As those participants meet, the plaintiff’s lawyer meets with his or her client. The two of them discuss their settlement goals. That discussion prepares them for the next stage. After those smaller meetings have taken place, all those present will take part in a group discussion.
Setting the scene for the group’s discussions
At this point, the plaintiff still has been denied access to any sort of compensation. Mediation have been designed for one purpose: To work towards correcting what appears, in the plaintiff’s mind, to be an unjust situation. The mediator is supposed to aid creation of a just settlement. During the group discussion each side reveals what points it will or will not negotiate. In that way, the group discussion has the ability to shape and guide creation of a settlement. Ideally, it will aid establishment of the terms of a settlement.
What happens after the mediation process?
If the mediator’s presence has aided creation of a settlement, then a personal injury claim gets filed with the court. The agreed-upon amount might be lower than what the plaintiff had hoped to win in court. Still, the plaintiff can be certain of the size of the amount that has been awarded to him or her. Without the lawyer’s assistance, the plaintiff would not have received any compensation. On the other hand, if the case had gone to court, the plaintiff would have been denied any amount certainty, concerning the size of a possible award.