Following an accident which left you injured, and which was caused by another party’s negligent behavior, you will be in a position in which you can file a claim against the guilty party. As a result, the defendant’s insurance company will be held responsible for providing monetary compensation to you, the claimant and plaintiff.
The purpose of the financial compensation is to provide the plaintiff and/or the family with support during the recovery stage so they can more easily return to the state of life quality they were in prior to the accident and resulting injuries. However, if the injuries were too serious to fully recover from, the height of the compensation can skyrocket to sums of thousands, if not millions, of dollars.In the past, such disputes over compensation amounts were addressed in court, but over recent years, a shift has become noticeable. In order to avoid court fees, hours upon hours of wasted time, as well as frequent commutes, alternate solutions such as mediation have become increasingly more popular.
Basics of Personal Injury Mediation
Alternative dispute resolution, or ADR for short, comes in many shapes and forms – one of which is mediation. ADR is used in a variety of situations as a way to settle claims and find solutions to disputes outside of court. There are many reasons why both lawyers, claimants, and the defense may want to avoid taking a case to court. For one, court cases can extend over a span of years before an end is in sight. However, even then, there is still no guarantee that the case will be settled in a way which is agreeable to even one of the involved parties.
Mediation on the other hand, can be a good way for both sides to get an insight into the other party’s case, arguments and point of view. And as a result, the involved parties will most likely have an easier time finding common ground. Because of this, quite a few municipalities have made mediation into a prerequisite prior to moving the case into the litigation process which takes place in court.
While mediation does not always end with a mutually agreed upon solution, it can still be a helpful stepping stone for the in-court phase, in which settlement is oftentimes reached sooner and more agreeably to both parties, due to the better understanding of each other’s cases. Additionally, you can discuss negotiations and mediation with your personal injury lawyer in Trenton and whether it can help your case. They would be able to evaluate and judge your case and help you get the compensation that you rightfully deserve.