Mediation and Settlement in Pittsburgh Medical Malpractice Claims
Several scenarios may result in a medical malpractice case. You may not have received appropriate care from a medical professional, or they failed to use sufficient skill when you were treated. Maybe you were prescribed the wrong medication or the wrong dosage or your medical diagnosis came too late and you are now paying the consequences.
These are just a few examples that may have you facing the possibility of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the provider liable for your injuries and other losses. In these cases, a Pittsburgh medical malpractice lawyer at Ogg, Murphy & Perkosky, P.C. reminds you that the basis for a successful claim is to establish that the treatment that you received was inconsistent with the standard of care for similar conditions, that you sustained an injury as a result of receiving this inappropriate treatment, and that this injury resulted in significant loss to you.
Can a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit in Pittsburgh Be Resolved Through Mediation?
If you have filed a lawsuit against your healthcare provider because you believe that you were harmed by their treatment, you may be experiencing a feeling of betrayal of trust. You thought you had a good relationship with your doctor and could place your health in their hands, and now you find yourself on opposite sides of a legal battle.
Even though the physician might want to approach you to talk and to explain why they still believe they offered you the best possible care for your condition, once they receive your demand letter, their insurance company will most likely advise them not to talk to you, making the adversarial positions even more pronounced.
When both parties agree to use mediation to resolve their dispute, both parties have an opportunity to face each other and explain their side of the story. Most importantly, they also have the opportunity to listen to each other. The result may be that the conflict is resolved more humanely and effectively before the claim moves to trial.
What Is the Process of Mediation?
Mediation offers a way for the parties involved in the conflict to negotiate. There is a neutral mediator that is not a decision-maker but only an impartial third party that allows both parties to communicate in a civilized way.
Ultimately it might be the physician who has the last word, depending on the insurance coverage they carry. Perhaps the insurance company or the patient will have the last word. However, in the majority of cases, the patient relies on the advice of their malpractice attorney.
Mediation is usually successful when both parties come to the table in good faith and it generally begins with the mediator explaining the ground rules to both parties, having both of them sign a mediation agreement that will obligate the parties to keep the communications and documents confidential.
How Does Mediation End?
Mediation can either fail, in which case the lawsuit proceeds to court or it may succeed and a settlement may be reached. Generally, you can expect over 85% of cases that use this method to settle through mediation.
Even though both parties may have already expressed their points of view regarding this matter, if mediation is not successful, they would not have surrendered any of their rights before going to court. The case would continue as though mediation had never happened.
There is also the option of going through arbitration in which the arbitrator works just as if the parties were on trial. Arbitrators tend to be retired judges or lawyers who are deemed neutral by both parties.