The Role of Mediation in Personal Injury Claims

Personal Injury Disputes Mediation

What Is a Personal Injury Law?

Getting hurt in a car accident allows you to claim monetary compensation from a responsible person. Personal injury law is the branch of civil law that deals with these types of claims. The goal of personal injury law is setting rules and conditions for obtaining financial compensation because of wrongful actions of another person. 

Apart from car accidents, the catalog of personal injury cases comprises dog bites, fall accidents, slip accidents, and medical malpractice. The list goes on to construction accidents, faulty product injuries, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, work accidents, etc.

Grounds For Liability

In Florida, there are three types of liability in personal injury law. If another person fails to act carefully and causes personal injury, such a wrongful act is considered negligence. On the other hand, recklessness occurs when a person causes bodily injury to the victim even though they know or should know that behaving that way will cause harm. In strict liability cases, a person is responsible regardless of their knowledge or intent. A dog owner is strictly liable for the injuries the victim suffered, notwithstanding the former violence of the dog or the awareness of such violence.

Proving Personal Injury Claims

To win a personal injury negligence case, a victim must demonstrate that the other party had the duty to act carefully and that they breached such duty. Failing to act carefully must be in a casual relationship with the accident. Finally, the victim must show that they suffered damage because of the other person’s negligence. 

The victims in personal injury cases typically claim economic damages, such as medical bills, the expenses of follow-up appointments and rehabilitation, and compensation for personal care due to immobility.

Sometimes the victim suffers emotional distress or mental anguish due to personal injury. Compensation for emotional or mental consequences of a wrongful act is considered non-economic damage. 

Regardless of the injury type or the damage you claim, proving personal injury allegations in court litigation is a burdensome task. If you decide to seek compensation in court, you should get ready for a costly, lengthy, and ineffective procedure. 

Mediating Personal Injury Disputes

Luckily, there is an alternative. Mediation offers a neutral, flexible, and confidential approach to personal injury disputes resolution.

Given the nature of personal injury cases, the relationship between the parties is tense. Both the victim and the defendant are agitated, anxious, and distressed. The last thing they need is a vindictive and hostile atmosphere of litigation.

In mediation, the focus is not on conquering your adversary and winning the case. On the contrary, the mediator (a third neutral person) seeks ways to bring reconciliation and peace between the conflicting parties. By exploring the causes of the dispute, the mediator tries to find a common language and reach a settlement through negotiations.

The mediators are chosen voluntarily by the parties. However, they can decide to change them at any time, or they abandon the process as a whole. That brings a sense of control over the procedure and the outcome, absent in traditional litigation.

Personal injury cases often involve disclosing sensitive personal information. Unlike public litigation, nothing shared during mediation will ever become a part of the public record. Even if the mediation does not succeed, the parties cannot use the information they acquired in future litigation.

Litigation includes complex discovery, deposition, and expert witness testimonies, which leads to a lengthy and costly process. 

On the other hand, personal injury mediation involves presenting the matter to the mediator in private sessions, followed by open discussion in joint sessions. Both parties (and their counsels) participate in negotiations facilitated by the mediator to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.

If the negotiations are successful, the parties will settle and sign the agreement. The signed agreement is legally enforceable in court. 

Schedule Your Appointment

As a certified Florida mediator, Thomas Chase will help you reach a mutually beneficial settlement in your injury case. Using advanced negotiation techniques crafted through years of experience, Mr. Chase will bring a peaceful resolution to any personal injury dispute.

Call today to schedule your appointment.