Does This Mediation Make Me Look Fat?
Nobody wants to look bad. Turns out some workers compensation professionals think recommending mediation makes it look like they couldn’t get the claim settled themselves. Mediating a claim doesn’t make you look bad. It makes you look smart.
Are You A Litigation Expert?
Most claims settle. Mediation makes it happen sooner.Litigation experts realize that going to trial on an issue risks losing it all. It takes a long time to get to trial; meanwhile the claim gets expensive (how many medical exams do you really need?) Facts may become less favorable.Parties in mediation retain control of the outcome rather than surrender to an unpredictable result. Often I help parties invent a solution they had never previously considered.
Most claims settle. Mediation makes it happen sooner.Litigation experts realize that going to trial on an issue risks losing it all. It takes a long time to get to trial; meanwhile the claim gets expensive (how many medical exams do you really need?) Facts may become less favorable.Parties in mediation retain control of the outcome rather than surrender to an unpredictable result. Often I help parties invent a solution they had never previously considered.
A Safe Place for Bad News
Attorneys may be hesitant to deliver bad news. One fear is that the client will get new counsel. Mediation provides a forum for a neutral person, the mediator, to deliver the message. The attorney can commiserate with the client, look like a hero, and yet get the case settled.
How Good Do you Want To Look?
I have successfully helped parties settle even when negotiations stalled in prior informals. With a mediator’s help, parties (even skeptical ones) who come to mediation willing to settle on acceptable terms generally do settle. The next time the professional who mediated comes up for evaluation, that person doesn’t look bad—that person looks great.
