Judge Oliver Jones QC, a Circuit Judge on the Midland Circuit has called for greater use of mediation to assist in cost effective case management of personal injury cases. He believes experienced personal injury judges should be involved with the case management process at an early stage -
What is required for all cases, other than those on the Fast Track, is
a single very early case-management hearing
before a ‘designated’ or ‘ticketed’ judge with significant experience of personal injury litigation
who will expect to be provided with all necessary information
to enable bespoke directions to be given
as well as consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of claim and defence
with a view to alternative dispute resolution at the earliest identified opportunity.
He believes that mediation should be used more widely -
As an advocate of mediation I could devote several papers to this subject alone as a tool in the armoury of cost-effective management of a personal injury claim. The view that mediation is not appropriate in personal injury claims is both blinkered and old-fashioned, stemming from an arrogant view that ‘only we who do this sort of work can sort it out and in the way we always have done.’ There are many cases where, as early as the allocation stage, mediation would be both appropriate and effective to resolve the dispute in personal injury litigation.
I am not interested in playing the blame game and identifying who is responsible for the comparatively low take up of mediation in personal injury litigation. I’m not sure that blaming ”arrogant” lawyers is particularly helpful. Claimant and defendant personal injury solicitors are dedicated to doing the best for their clients. It is a failing of the ADR community that we have been unable to interest them in exploring mediation as a means of achieving this objective in appropriate cases.
Of course I believe that mediation is a suitable for personal injury claims. I believe everybody involved – the parties, their representatives, their insurers and the courts benefit from it. I would be delighted to talk to you about it if you are interested in finding out more. If you disagree please add to the debate and post your comment below.
