Won arbitration -Why am I going to court?

[aiocabrasil]

I am in the state of Oregon. I was involved in a car accident almost 3 years ago. An SUV ran a red light and T-boned me and was cited. I had extensive injuries etc., that are well documented. I thought the ordeal was over at our arbitration. He ruled in our favor and awarded a dollar amount. So why is the defending insurance company "appealing" and now offering 5 times less money, ordering me to an examination by a doctor who was their defendant witness at the arbitration ,via fax, who never examined me or met me, and saying either settle with us for this reduced amount of money or go to a jury trial? The insurance "adjustor" is refusing to believe that I was injured in certain areas because of the accident and simply claiming my injuries were impossible to have recieved in the accident. HUH?! After all of my doctors, PTs and arbitrator have come down on my side? This is truly the twilight zone. Seems so logical and simple. Any experts out there care to comment??

 

[seniorjudge]

I am in the state of Oregon. I was involved in a car accident almost 3 years ago. An SUV ran a red light and T-boned me and was cited. I had extensive injuries etc., that are well documented. I thought the ordeal was over at our arbitration. He ruled in our favor and awarded a dollar amount. So why is the defending insurance company "appealing" and now offering 5 times less money, ordering me to an examination by a doctor who was their defendant witness at the arbitration ,via fax, who never examined me or met me, and saying either settle with us for this reduced amount of money or go to a jury trial? The insurance "adjustor" is refusing to believe that I was injured in certain areas because of the accident and simply claiming my injuries were impossible to have recieved in the accident. HUH?! After all of my doctors, PTs and arbitrator have come down on my side? This is truly the twilight zone. Seems so logical and simple. Any experts out there care to comment??

Without having the arbitrator's decision before me, I would have to guess that it was a nonbinding arbitration.

 

[aiocabrasil]

I hope this is getting to you senior judge! So where on the paper would I find this information that it was non-binding?

 

[seniorjudge]

I hope this is getting to you senior judge! So where on the paper would I find this information that it was non-binding?

Without having the arbitrator's decision before me, I would have to guess that it was a nonbinding arbitration.

 

[Happy Trails]

Check with your mediator.

Did you sign any type of document before the case was started?

http://www.mediationnetwork.net/arbitration/index.cfm

 

[seniorjudge]

Check with your mediator.

Did you sign any type of document before the case was started?

http://www.mediationnetwork.net/arbitration/index.cfm

Good point.

Writer, was it a MEDIATION or an ARBITRATION?

There is a big difference.

 

[aiocabrasil]

You have to excuse me, I don't know how to reply to all of you or where...duh...yes, it was an arbitration and it is a lawsuit against the man who ran into me and his insurance company is defending him. I didn't sign any papers other than the lawsuit papers over a years ago..nothing before the arbitration

 

[stephenk]

What happened was that the court referred your matter to non-binding arbitration. It is an attempt to resolve the case short of trial. The award is not binding on either party unless both parties agree to the award. So if the award was $0 for you, you could have also rejected the award just like the other carrier is doing.

Do you have an attorney representing you? If yes, didn't your attorney explain the arbitration process to you before the hearing?

 

[aiocabrasil]

What happened was that the court referred your matter to non-binding arbitration. It is an attempt to resolve the case short of trial. The award is not binding on either party unless both parties agree to the award. So if the award was $0 for you, you could have also rejected the award just like the other carrier is doing.

Do you have an attorney representing you? If yes, didn't your attorney explain the arbitration process to you before the hearing?

Yes, I have an attorney. I told him from the beginning I did not want a jury trial as I had been on a mock jury years ago and that scared me off of a "jury of my peers" forever. He explained that after the arbitrators decision we would both be in two rooms with someone running back and forth with offers and counter offers...not that we would be filing papers to go to a jury trial. Can I have just a single judge decide my case without going in front of 12 people?

 

[seniorjudge]

...Can I have just a single judge decide my case without going in front of 12 people?....

If the kind of case you have is allowed a jury trial in your state, then if either side wants a jury trial, there will be a jury trial.

 

[stephenk]

what you just described is mediation not arbitration. The mediator may have given his/her value to the case for consideration, but it is not an award.

So you have two choices: take the offer or go to trial.

 

[fejee]

From what u describe, it appears u attended a non-binding arbitration ordered by the court. Because the other party's insurance carrier did not agree with the arbitrators award, they must have filed for a trial de novo (legal jargon for rejecting an arbitration award and choosing to go to trial).

It's hard to tell if the award by the arbitrator was fair as you did not mention your injuries and the amount of ur med bills. You may wanna ask your attorney if in your State you have the option to request for a bench trail instead of a jury trial. A bench trial is where the judge hears the case and renders a judgement based on the evidence presented.

You should also inquire with your attorney if the insurance carrier is willing to go for a binding arbitration with a high and low. What this means is that you and the insurance company agree upon a dollar value range of your case, eg, you may both agree that the value of your case is between $0- $50000. This range is not divulged to the arbitrator.

Let's say that after hearing your case, the arbitrator renders an award of $15000. You have no choice but to accept the $15000. On the other hand, say the award rendered is $125,000. The maximum the insurance carrier will pay u is $50000, the maximum amount you and the insurance carrier had agreed to receive as compensation. This way u save a lot of litigation expenses.

Good Luck.