Plaintiff

Bodily Injury case in claim, aged 6-9 months or more.

Except in cases of extremely serious injury, most of the pertinent medicals, specials, etc. can be assembled within 6-9 months after the date of loss. SSI will contact the opposition and should there be any outstanding items necessary for proper evaluation of the claim, we will supply plaintiffs counsel with written request for those items. Once a claims examiner is presented with enough discovery to evaluate the liability and the injury, it is reasonable to assume that they will consider the use of "ADR". The matter can be submitted for either mediation or arbitration, subject to any missing documents and time for the examiner to review and evaluate the claim. Early submission can move cases forward quickly, without the need for immediate litigation.

Summons and complaint recently served.

Submission for either mediation or arbitration, with an offer to allow defense to go on stips for their answer. This will afford your adversary a savings of legal fees in exchange for their consideration of proceeding with ADR (subject, of course, to outstanding discoverable items and time to evaluate.)

Cases scheduled for "unnecessary" depositions (ie., liability clear.)

Submission for mediation or arbitration: can be subject to missing discovery. An agreement for mediation will allow for adjournment of EBT's even if court ordered; an agreement to arbitrate may eliminate the need for EBT's altogether.

Multi-party cases where there may be only one culpable party.

Early submission for ADR may prevent co-defendants and/or third party defendants from seeking (and gaining) motion for summary judgement. If ADR is proposed before motions begin, there is a much better chance to keep in "partners" for some form of contribution (however small that might be.) At a mediation, less culpable parties can sometimes be convinced, that a small contribution on their part could remove years of handling and defense from a claim that they may not owe. Many times these "contributions'' are all that is necessary to bridge the financial gap and settle a case.

Multi-party cases where coverage is being contested (including labor law.)

Submission for mediation, will enable SSI to gain the participation of all involved parties. Having all named parties in the action, voluntarily attend a mediation will allow for discussion of coverage with the input of one of our respected panel members, possibly avoiding the expense and delays of a declaratory judgement. Many complex cases are easily resolved, once coverage and/or apportionment is determined. The savings to all in time and legal expenses is clear, with even the most complex cases resolving in hours.

Cases where liability is clear and damages are being disputed.

Submission for mediation: the opinion of an experienced neutral, can force the parties to re-evaluate their positions as if they were on trial, leading to fruitful negotiations beginning or resuming.
Submission for arbitration: will allow the chosen neutral to make a binding determination on damages only, while in some instances enabling the plaintiff to guarantee a fixed recovery, regardless of the outcome. We employ relaxed rules of evidence, with no need for experts and plaintiff is not required to testify.

Cases where liability is at issue and the plaintiff is unavailable.

Submission for mediation: no appearance by the claimant/plaintiff is required, counsel can rely on police reports. etc. to support his/her position on the issue of negligence.
Submission for arbitration: without divulging the possibility of you not being able to produce your client, you can attempt to negotiate a liability split that "you can live with". The case can then be arbitrated for "damages only" with the stipulated percentages applied to the final award

Cases where damages are relatively clear and liability is at issue.

Submission for mediation: the input of a neutral can often times break an existing impasse and help move a case to closure.
Submission for arbitration: case can be heard "liability only" with percentages of negligence applied against a pre-determined ''full-value'' amount of the damages. The agreement and details will be set forth by stipulation.

Infant's case, where the settlement may be held up by the emotions of parents.

Submission for mediation: it can be suggested that the parents appear at the mediation. When an acceptable settlement is reached, the neutral (with counsel's consent), will discuss the negatives of continued litigation directly with the parents or guardians.
Submission for arbitration: In application, many carriers will arbitrate infant's cases subject to judicial compromise.

Cases with questionable threshold

These cases can (relatively speaking) be extremely expensive to handle, with the possibility for recovery sometimes overshadowed by the costs to litigate.
Submission for arbitration: proposing an arbitration EARLY with a small amount or $0.00 on the low, will enable you to shorten the life of the case, lower your expenses and substantially reduce your investment in time.

Cases involving claims against limited coverage (10/20, 15/30, 25/50, etc.. )

Fixed costs and litigation expenses combine in many instances to seriously limit your client's potential recovery.
Submission for mediation: As a "rule of thumb" cases which have Bl limits of $10,000/$20,000 should be always be arbitrated. There just is not enough money to make a mediation a wise choice Should the coverage be higher (say $25,000.00), mediation once again becomes viable.
Submission for arbitration: Arbitration is an excellent avenue for resolution of claims against limited policies. Cases can be submitted with $0.00 or some higher amount, which can be negotiated for the low, with the high limited to no more than the policy limits.

Cases where note of issue is filed.

Submission for mediation: these cases can usually be clarified without the need for expensive declaratory judgement. Once coverage issues are resolved settlement can be addressed with plaintiff. Legal costs can now be used for indemnity.

Cases where note of issue is filed.

These cases are obviously in advanced stages and therefore should be in a ready posture for either mediation or arbitration to be proposed.

Cases marked final for trial.

Cases facing jury selection, where parties have agreed to mediate, will usually be granted an adjournment with the hopes that trial can be avoided. Should the mediation be unsuccessful, the case can continue to verdict in the courts.
Submission for arbitration: an agreement by the parties and an executed stipulation can remove a case from the trial calendar.

We feel that every case should be looked at with eye towards some form of "ADR". In many instances the cost for experts and trial expenses can outweigh or substantially reduce your recovery. Add to this fact unpredictable juries, unfavorable venues, cumbersome and redundant procedures. Further considerations are the possibilities of defense verdicts and/or appeal with the associated expenses and time delays.

Industry averages suggest that if a plaintiffs' firm, after years of handling, appearances and litigation do not get a verdict in the area of $100,000.00, the firm probably did not make much money. The cost for experts alone can go well into the thousands, not to mention your most important asset . . . your time and that of your firm. The more quickly any claim or litigation is equitably resolved, the faster your client is out telling future clients, how quickly you settled his/her case.

The ADR industry continues to grow at an unheard of rate, building on increased acceptance and the successes enjoyed by adversaries in any manner of cases. Each case that is resolved using the SSI forum, seems to encourage the parties that their continued use can only result in reduced costs and increased closures. There is finally a way to avoid the extensive delays, redundancies and expenses of an overburdened Civil Court system. The answer is ADR and the company is SSI!

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