The Most Important Part of A Mediation

We start every conversation with every claimant at every mediation by explaining the most important part of the mediation process.

Depending on who you represent or what role you in play in a mediation, it might seem like the most important things to explain are AWW, SEB, TTD, or some other legalese acronym. Maybe the most important thing to explain to an injured worker on mediation day is how all the lawyers and insurance adjusters around them are going to handle their claim today and what’s going to happen to and around them.

We mention none of this in our first conversation with the claimant.

Instead, we greet them with a smile and homemade treat on what is, for most, a very tense, scary, and high-stakes day of their case (and really, their life as of late) and we tell them that today is about choice— their choice. We tell them our role is to facilitate a conversation that empowers them to make the best choice for their life and their family and their well-being, and that we will honor whatever they choose because ultimately, it’s their life.

Later, as needed, we’ll explain the formalities and logistics of the comp system as they pertain to the injured worker. We’ll answer any questions they have and make sure they have as much information as they need to make the best decision for themselves, but after two decades of workers’ comp mediation and having met 6,000+ injured workers, we’ve honed in on what really moves the needle on not just case closure, but closing a case with care & respect for the humans involved from all angles: choice.

We all know how good it feels to exercise our power to choose. Conversely, we all know how frustrating it feels to not be able to choose.

Offering— authentically— this power of choice to someone who has been, up until this point pinged back and forth like a pinball in the system of workers’ comp, does more for the case’s potential to resolve than the claimant’s understanding of any of our familiar acronyms. Likewise, helping employers and insurers understand not just the choices available to them but the downstream effects of those choices, is a powerful lever when it comes to resolving disputes.

At Prism, we believe it is understanding one’s power of choice that sets the foundation for our 90% closure rate. We carry this with us both inside and outside the mediation room, always trying to stay aware of the things we can choose, and choosing wisely when we can.