What is Mediation in a Utah Car Accident Claim?
Car accident mediation in Utah is a voluntary process where the parties hire a neutral third party to help facilitate a settlement. Lately, mediation often occurs over video. Before COVID-19, mediations generally happened in an attorney’s office or in their conference room. The parties are immediately split up.
Who Attends Car Accident Mediations?
Mediation is a private affair and who attends is dictated by the parties who agreed to the mediation. Unlike public court hearings, mediations are not open to the public.
Here are people that commonly attend mediation, in-person, or by phone standby.
Injury Plaintiff: The person who was injured in the car accident.
Plaintiff’s Attorney: The attorney for a the injured plaintiff.
Insurance Defense Attorney: The attorney representing the insurance company.
The At-Fault Insurance Adjuste
r: The insurance defense attorney is often beholden completely to the wishes and directions of the insurance adjuster for the at-fault insurance carrier. The insurance defense attorney can’t make any offers unless authorized by the insurance adjuster.
The At-Fault Party: Although a party to the lawsuit, the at-fault driver rarely, rarely attend mediations because they have no say on when and how to settle the case. The authority to settle a Utah car accident case fully rests with the insurance company. This is how bad faith cases arise. That is a conversation for another day.
The Mediator: The mediator always attends and is doing much of the work, helping the parties seek the weaknesses and strengths in their respective cases.
Who are Mediators in Utah Car Accident Cases?
Mediators are usually experienced attorneys who have been practicing car accident mediation for 20 plus years. It is not required to be a licensed attorney to be a mediator, not is it required to have car accident experience. But car accident mediators have substantial experience defending insurance companies and know the ins-and-outs of car accident insurance claims.
Is Mediation Confidential?
All correspondence during mediation are confidential so that the parties can speak freely and really try to get the case settled. If the parties were worried about their statements being used against them later in the litigation after a mediation failed, it would hamper the mediation process.
Utah Rule of Evidence 408 Compromise Offers and Negotiations specifically make negotiations and compromise offers inadmissible under the Utah evidence rules.
When Does Mediation Occur in a Utah Car Accident Case?
Mediations can occur early in a car accident case, just after the lawsuit is filed. Sometimes mediation occurs before a lawsuit is even filed.
Mediation can also occur while cases are on appeal after a jury has already given a verdict or a no cause of action.
Mediation on most smaller cases only happens once. On bigger cases, mediation is sometimes conducted twice, after the first mediation failed. Sometimes car accident cases can settle after mediation initially failed as the parties continue to negotiate after mediation failed.
Are Other Types of Utah Injury Cases Mediated? Yes.
Many other types of Utah personal injury cases are mediated. Dog bites, medical malpractice, slip and falls and wrongful deaths. Most any dispute can be mediate.