Many people are fearful of the litigation process and concerned that if they bring a claim for personal injury, they will have to attend trial. Their perceptions of a trial are somewhat coloured by their knowledge of them, which is not usually first hand, but through what they have seen on the television. What they do not know is that how trials are portrayed on the television is very adversarial and very different from real life. Also, the portrayal is usually of different type of claim than a personal injury claim, ie, a criminal prosecution rather than a claim for damages for injury. The process and procedure is very much different than that. In reality, very few cases reach court. The courts are very keen to encourage parties to engage in a mutual spirit of co operation and in fact, actively promote mediation.
Mediation is a scheme that is set up to encourage parties to sit around the table with an independent mediator and discuss the issues in dispute, and see if any resolution can be met at an early stage of the litigation process. This is at the earlier stages of litigation to try and limit the potential costs of the action. When a claim is issued at court, the solicitor has to advise the court that they have discussed the implications of and invited their client to participate in mediation. To attend a mediation meeting would hopefully not have the same pressure, worry and emotional stress as having to attend court.
What about before court proceedings are issued? Joint settlement meetings are a way to bring the parties together with a view to discussing potential settlement of the case. What usually happens is the client would attend with their solicitor, and sometimes, there would also be a barrister. A barrister is a specialist legal advisers and court room advocate. They are independent and objective and trained to advise clients on the strengths as well as the weaknesses of their case. They have specialist knowledge and experience in and out of court which can make a substantial difference to the outcome of a case.
What would happen is that each party would have their own room, and then there would be another room in which the solicitor or if one was being used, barrister could meet their opposition to discuss settlement issues. So, the client would not even have to see the opposition which they quite often perceive to be a stressful factor. Proposals would be put back and forth until hopefully, and agreement is reached.
So, if you are interested in brining a claim for a work related injury, or indeed any other type of injury, don’t be worried about having to attend court! Please contact us at this office to speak to one of our specialist accidents at work solicitors who can ensure that you receive maximum compensation, for a minimum of fuss.
