From Here to There: How We Settle Cases, Part 2

I wrote a couple of days ago about mediation as one way for our clients to reach a settlement with insurance companies. Mediation is a formal process of negotiating with the help of a neutral third party, and can avoid the time-consuming, stressful and expensive process of preparing for and litigating a trial.

Another option the personal injury attorneys at The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya consider is arbitration. This is similar to the mediation process in many ways. However, arbitration is more formal, in many ways resembling a trial, and the results decided by the arbitrator are binding on both parties.

Instead of mutually agreeing on a decision as happens - or doesn't - in mediation, an arbitrator acts much as a judge would in a court trial. The arbitrator listens to both sides argue their case and present evidence, reviews the case and then makes a decision. That decision is legally binding and final. This can sometimes be beneficial, while in other cases it's a pitfall. That's why a decision to arbitrate is one you should discuss carefully with your personal injury lawyer at The Law Offices of Dianne Sawaya.

The best and fastest way to settle your case, of course, is to negotiate with the other party's insurance company and have them agree on a fair and reasonable settlement amount. But if that doesn't work, our personal injury attorneys consider all options, including mediation and arbitration that I've talked about.

In my next column I'll describe the last option - a full trial in front of a jury. Whichever method we use, each has the same goal: to get you fair and reasonable compensation for your injury.