When a personal injury case is filed you enter litigation. During litigation one side of the other may propose to “mediate” your case. This means both sides will pick a neutral person who helps the sides reach and agreement. Typically mediators are ex judges, ex insurance defense lawyers, or ex personal injury lawyers. Both sides agree to the mediator and then the mediation date is set. For a successful mediation to occur the case has to be “ripe” meaning the insurance company has answered all of their questions they had and now have the proper information to obtain what’s called “authority.” This authority is the dollar amount the adjuster is authorized to pay at mediation for your claim. In order to get full authority for the full value of your case, your injury attorney must know how to build your case properly with the right type of experts who build what we call damages “models.” These can include doctors to talk about your future care needs, life care planners who can put a dollar amount on that future care, vocational rehabilitationists who can determine any loss of earning capacity claims and economists to add these numbers together. For a catastrophic injury case these experts are a must. For a case where the value may not be in the millions your lawyer may not need to hire all of these experts which saves you money in costs. Each case is different, and mediations can be successful if your case is properly prepared by top notch personal injury attorneys. If you have been injured or want a second opinion give us a call.