Benefits of mediation for claimants

Litigation can be a slow and stressful process even when you are represented by specialist solicitors. Here are some of the benefits of mediation for personal injury claimants:

Early settlement, early settlement, early settlement
Reduce stress
Have your day in court
It’s not just the money
Involvement in the case
Nothing to lose

Early settlement, early settlement, early settlement

If you are like most of the clients I represented in practice you will want to settle the claim as soon as possible. That does not mean accepting the first offer the defendant makes. Mediation does not weaken your case in any way, it is simply a way of negotiating settlement. The big advantage is that you do not have to wait for a trial, mediation can and usually is done long before a trial would take place.

Reduce Stress

Are you looking forward to giving evidence in court? I thought not. Mediation is a completely different process to trial and has none of the formal structure and procedure of court hearings. Your mediator will be happy to talk to you before the meeting to make sure you are relaxed about the process (and if your mediator won’t talk to you give me a call and I’ll tell you what to expect).

Day in Court

Ironically you get a better opportunity to have your say at mediation than you do in court. What you say in court is carefully controlled by the judge, the other side’s barrister and rules of evidence and procedure. None of that applies at mediation meetings. The mediator will give you every opportunity to have your say. If you want to you can tell the other side exactly how the injury has affected you.

It’s not just the money

Compensation is important but I know from experience that it is not the only reason you have brought your claim. You want your opponent to acknowledge their responsibility, maybe confirm they are taking steps to prevent it happening to someone else and possibly apologise to you. A judge can not order these things but you can negotiate them as part of a mediation settlement.

Involvement in the case

You retain complete control in mediation. There is no judge to impose a settlement you don’t want and no decisions are taken without your consent. It is your case, your day.