Every step of your personal injury claim process should help you get the settlement you deserve. But you must prioritize getting medical treatment first so that you can fully recover from your illness or injuries. Everything you do after hiring a personal injury lawyer affects your final settlement value. Also, you should know that more than 90% of personal injury cases settle before trial.
What is the Most Effective Way to Settle A Personal Injury Claim?
You should know that one of the most effective ways to settle a claim is through mediation. Now, medication can actually result in a fair settlement of your case, which essentially eliminates the need to go to a trial. As a matter of fact, mediation of personal injury actions is necessary in certain jurisdictions.
Understanding the Effectiveness of Mediation
You might be wondering about why mediation is so effective. Now, here is the thing: when it comes to mediation, this is actually the only time you will meet the insurance claim adjuster in person, and you will be able to impact their assessment of what your case is worth.
What is Part of the Mediation Process?
When it comes to the mediation process, the schedule lasts for a half day but can also exceed six hours. Typically, there are five people in a mediation, including you, your personal injury lawyer, the insurance adjuster, the insurance lawyer, and, of course, the mediator. Now, the essential goal of mediation is to bring about a win-win resolution without having to resort to a costly and lengthy trial.
The mediator’s job is to narrow down the issue and look for common grounds between both parties. The mediator will also remind both parties of the essential benefits of finding a successful resolution. Finding a successful resolution is a better option than resorting to a lengthy trial and turning their fate into the hands of a judge and jury.
What Happens During the Mediation Process?
During the mediation, both parties are given their right to tell their side of the instance and share their thoughts. Typically, the mediator starts to speak first by explaining the essential benefits of the mediation process as well as the importance of the mediation being a confidential process where both parties can feel open and comfortable to speak – but – more importantly, to listen to each other.
Subsequently, your personal injury lawyer will be speaking next. They will summarize the strengths of your case and its most convincing points to the insurance adjuster who sits across from you at the boardroom table. Next, with your lawyer’s guidance, you will get the opportunity to speak directly to the insurance adjuster.
You should see this as your ultimate chance to ensure that the insurance adjuster can understand the impact that your injuries have had on your life.
The Insurance Adjuster’s Side
After you have spoken about your side of the story, the lawyer of the insurance company will speak to you, and while they are at it, they will try to convince you about the potential risks of proceeding to a lengthy and rather expensive trial. The lawyer of the insurance company will also emphasize how a successful resolution at this mediation is the best choice for both parties.
Lastly, the insurance adjuster will have the opportunity to talk to you directly about your personal injury case. They will also talk about their role in the mediation process.
What Happens During the Second Phase of the Mediation
After the initial remarks, both parties are separated into different meeting rooms, and the mediator deals with both parties and reviews their respective proposals as well as counter proposals to settle your lawsuit.
At this point, you might be wondering what are the chances of having a successful mediation. Here is the thing: if you want to have a positive settlement outcome at your mediation, the most important work should have been done long before the mediation began.
Usually, the insurance adjuster comes to the mediation with a value they believe your case is worth. They form the value based on the evidence that they gathered from the documents that your personal injury lawyer provided to them. The role of the insurance company lawyer is to advise the insurance adjuster about the potential aspects that are likely to happen at trial if they choose not to settle at mediation.
The Importance of Hiring An Experienced and Good Personal Injury Lawyer
Now, if your personal injury lawyer has done their job well in advance of the mediation, the insurance adjuster will have the necessary information required to properly value your lawsuit. It is important to mention the benefits of hiring an experienced and good personal injury attorney, such as the Schweickert Ganassin Krzak Rundio, LLP, as an experienced personal injury attorney understands the inner workings of mediation and trial and will always prepare in advance.
Also, suppose the mediation doesn’t end in a favorable outcome; even then, an experienced personal injury lawyer will gather valuable information from the process. Subsequently, they will use that information to gauge what the defense will be focusing on during the trial.
Mediation And Its Impact on Your Settlement Value
You might be wondering about how the mediation itself can affect your settlement value. Make sure that you are calm and constructive during the mediation. This way, you can effectively tell the adjuster how your life has been affected by the injuries. This way, you will show the adjuster that you deserve the settlement value at the higher end of the range that the adjuster believes your case could be worth if it were to proceed to a trial.
You should keep in mind that during mediation, this is the only time you can talk to the insurance adjuster directly and in person, essentially affecting their assessment of your claim. If you don’t find common ground to settle, what will happen is that the power will shift from you to a judge and jury. With the help of your lawyer, you will be deciding whether to accept or reject the adjuster’s offer to settle and decide whether or not to present a counteroffer.
