Mediation? What the heck is that?
If you have a worker’s compensation or auto accident injury claim in North Carolina, there’s a fairly high chance that you may be involved in a mediation at some point. So what the heck is a mediation anyway?
A mediation is a moderately formal meeting of two or more adverse parties to convene, under the guidance of a mediator, in an attempt to resolve the conflict between the parties. In some instances a mediation is mandatory in North Carolina, but not always. I tend to like them as a dispute resolution alternative and here are a few reasons why:
- Your attorney does all the talking, really. You don’t have to be examined or cross examined or get all worked up about that. For the most part your attorney will do all the talking for you. Don’t get me wrong: You’ll be involved and your decision-making is critical but you won’t be under any pressure to “perform,” which is great.
- The mediator is NOT a judge. The mediator, who is normally agreed to and assigned by the parties, is a non-partial, independent third party who gets paid no matter what so s/he doesn’t have a horse in the race. Generally, they’re just nice old lawyers or judges who like helping people figure stuff out. Often times you can really lean on their experience to help you gain a better understanding of the issues. Whereas a judge often tells you the outcome, a mediator only helps you to come to an outcome that you agree to. That’s way better in my opinion.
- You’re not with the adverse party very long. Generally speaking, there is the opening where the mediator briefly explains the process, the plaintiff’s attorney recounts what the issues are, the defense attorney responds, and then you separate into different rooms. This is called “caucusing” which just means you’re separate and free to talk to your attorney and the mediator about what’s going on. When you’re in a caucus, you can confide in the mediator if you feel it’s necessary/appropriate, and tell them not to share that info, and they won’t. Plus, you get to confer with your attorney while the mediator is away and that allows you plenty of real-time reaction to what you’re learning.
- You get to hear the other side. Everyone knows the strengths of their claims, but depending on your attorney’s style of practice, you may not know a great deal about the weaknesses of your claim, or how another party might perceive them. This is a great opportunity to hear the adverse parties’ viewpoints on your situation AND you get to have that filtered by an experienced, independent, NEUTRAL third party – the mediator – and that is worth its weight in gold. Maybe your case is great, but maybe it ain’t. This is where you often find out.
- You have the power to decide. In a trial, the “finder of fact” gets to decide the outcome of your case. That’s normally a judge or a jury. But that takes the power of your outcome totally out of your hands. In a mediation, you get to agree or not. I have found throughout the years that clients really appreciate having the power to agree to a resolution of a claim to be very, well, empowering, for lack of a better word.
And that’s really not all of the benefits, that’s just all I can explain in a blog post. If you’re in a position to potentially resolve your case in a mediation, it’s a good opportunity to at minimum learn about your case and best case scenario get the best, most reasonable outcome possible.
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