Is mediation for personal injury on the rise? According to a leading provider in the Law Society Gazette, that’s exactly what’s happening as the nation’s credit crunch continues.
“Maurice Nichols, mediator and consultant to the Center for Effective Dispute Resolution’s personal injury unit (PIU), said: ‘There are always two important drivers to personal injury litigation – the claimant wants to see an end to his case and get his compensation as quickly as possible – and solicitors’ cash flow as they are running a business.’ Today's economic climate ‘accentuates focus on both’, he said."
Personally, I think this statement is correct when it comes to what people want in personal injury litigation. However, I also believe this is an idealistic view seen through rose colored glasses. Such easy resolutions may be the intent for personal injury victims, but such simplicity hardly reflects actuality.
Every firm has their own way for handling such cases. Many times, proper training is the means by which to overcome the barriers to adoption for mediation. Here are a few ideas on how our firm’s employees are trained to overcome such obstacles:
1. Many times, lawyers simply resist adopting the practice of mediation. At David H. Rick’s and Associates, we are the exception to the rule.
2. Sometimes, courts are not firm enough in pushing mediation among parties when they should be.
3. Parties may resist mediation, thinking that their problems are too complex. Unfortunately, this may just be ignorance talking.
