South Florida Personal Injury Mediators
Why Hire Us?
Over the past few years, we have witnessed an unfortunate trend where some mediators do little more than robotically shuttle offers back and forth between break out rooms. As any experienced lawyer knows, effective mediators should not simply be a middleman passing offers, or worse, a shill for one party. Some mediators seemingly have no interest in the parties coming to a resolution and do the bare minimum to secure their fee.
Although mediators must remain neutral, they should use their experience to highlight the possible outcomes of what could occur in Court or in front of a jury. If a mediator does not rely on their experience to help facilitate a resolution, why would you agree to pay them such a high hourly rate?
So why hire us…? As seasoned personal injury attorneys for over a decade, Marc Lyons and Philip Snyder know how much cases settle for, and importantly, why cases settle. We are not afraid to challenge a party to explain why they believe their case is strong, or why the other parties’ case is weak. We will push to get a resolution.
What Makes Us Unique
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Your mediator should be intimately familiar with the type of case that is being litigated. We have practiced in the field of personal injury since 2008 – it is what we know. We only mediate personal injury cases including motor vehicle crashes, scooter/moped crashes, motorcycle crashes, UBER/LYFT accidents, bicycle accidents, pedestrian accidents, premises liability, slip and fall, trip and fall, wrongful death and negligent security.
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Your mediator should know the makeup of your potential jury and how they feel about personal injury related matters. Since 2008, over 95% of the cases handled by Marc Lyons and Philip Snyder were based out of Monroe County, Broward County, Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County. As a result, we exclusively provide mediation services in these counties.
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We have studied behavioral psychology, persuasion, and negotiation. We strive to be on the forefront of the newest strategies and have taken advanced level classes in these subjects to assist us in becoming better mediators.
Elephant in the Room
We understand that some insurance adjusters or insurance companies may be hesitant to hire a Plaintiff personal injury attorney as a mediator. They might assume that Plaintiff’s personal injury attorneys will be biased to the Plaintiff’s side and cannot be fair and impartial. However, we believe that our position as Plaintiff’s personal injury attorneys provides a unique perspective that is beneficial and advantageous to the process of mediation; here are a few reasons why:
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We have credibility with Plaintiffs. Relying on experience, we can honestly tell Plaintiffs what similar cases settle for and why they settle for those amounts, using past cases to bolster our credibility. Plaintiffs like to hear that they are getting a “good deal” relying on past results as a guide. We know what to say and importantly, how to say it, to get difficult Plaintiffs to accept the deal.
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We know the doctors. Some doctors are known to inflate their bills and we know the true cost of medical procedures and what percentages these doctors will accept on an LOP. This knowledge helps get cases settled as there is no guessing as to the Plaintiff’s net recovery.
Bottom Line
Mediators should be more than just a parrot – repeating what the parties are saying.
Successful mediators:
- Ask questions.
- Identify issues to help the parties make an informed decision.
- Impartially facilitate discussion and negotiation.
- Propose different options for consideration.
- Stimulate conversation.
- Flush out the alternatives to a resolution.
- Their best alternative to a negotiated settlement (BATNA) best day in Court.
- Their alternative to a negotiated settlement (WATNA) worst day in Court.
- What would likely happen if you went to Court.
- Ensure that the parties are heard, understood, and educated on the strengths and weaknesses of their cases, accounting for risk.
- Help the parties determine on their own the benefits of resolving their case without:
- The added uncertainty of proceeding to trial.
- The added stress of proceeding to trial.
- The added costs of proceeding to trial.
- The added exposure of going to trial.
- How long will it take to get to trial.
We are excited to be mediators. It is our calling. We are not just number pushers. We want cases to move. Let us show you that different is better.
