Mediation is a time for all the parties to a case to meet together with a neutral 3rd party professionally trained mediator to try to get your case settled. It usually takes place either at the Georgia State Board of Workers' Compensation, or at the office of the mediator. Who is going to be there? Usually it's: You and your lawyer, Insurance company lawyer, The mediator Sometimes, an insurance company adjuster or a representative from the employer will be there, but not usually. What's the role of the mediator? (Their role is that of a neutral third party. He or she doesn't have a dog in the fight so to speak. They are not your friend, but they are not the friend of the other side either. They will frequently say they are the friend of the deal. They're just trying to get the case settled. That's their job.) What's your role at the mediation? Are you going to have to talk? Don't worry about that. With the right lawyer, most clients are happy to know they won't have to say a word. If you are not comfortable talking about your case and don't know how to express all the issues, don't worry, that's why you picked out an experienced lawyer. An experienced lawyer will be very familiar with your case and very familiar with the laws that apply to your case. If you do want to say something, that's probably ok too. You're just going to want to talk about it with your lawyer before you do. You don't want to accidentally say something that could wreck your case. At the beginning of mediation all the parties will come together in the same room. They'll basically introduce themselves and say hello. The facts of your case may be discussed at that time in the group meeting or the lawyers may have already provided a case summary to the mediator. After the initial meeting the parties will generally break up into two separate rooms. One with you and your lawyer, and a completely different room with the other parties. After that the mediator will walk back and forth between the rooms discussing the good and bad parts of your case and conveying settlement offers back and forth between the parties. Don't worry if you think the mediation is getting off to a slow start. There is usually a certain amount of jockeying or posturing at the beginning of the mediation until both sides settle into the real negotiations later on. There are lots of different mediation strategies and an experienced lawyer will help you choose the one that is best for your particular case. Also, please realize that during the mediation you will have plenty of private time with your lawyer where the two of you can discuss what's going on and what strategy to use to get you the very best settlement possible. At the end of the mediation your case will have either settle or not. If you do get your case settled, you'll probably have your money within about 30 days. On the other hand, if it doesn't settle, your case just continues on as though the mediation never happened. A mediation is usually the very best opportunity for all the parties to come together to try to get your case settled. You need to realize that in order to get the most value for your case, there will be good and bad times during your case to seek a mediation. It's important to have an experienced lawyer help you figure out the very best time to mediate your case. If you and your lawyer have chosen the very best time to mediate your case and you've chosen an experienced lawyer to build and present your case, you'll stand the very best opportunity to have your case settled for the most value. Be sure you have a lawyer representing you with plenty of mediation experience. You'll likely only get one chance to get it right. So you're going to want to make it count. Russell Keener KeenerLaw.com 770-955-3000 Helping the Injured and Disabled for over 22 years.

• published: 01 Jul 2013
• views: 16966