Mediation - what to expect? - Update in OP

My parents went to mediation when my father almost died in the hospital two days after weight loss surgery. The case was against the surgeon and the hospital. The hospital was included because their staff did not follow chain of command when there were warning signs of problems before the event. Our experience went like this: The doctor's lawyers were quick to point out that he lost a lot of weight which was the purpose of the surgery. However, our lawyer pointed out that he suffered a brain injury when he lost oxygen when he almost died in the hospital, was in ICU for 3 months, then rehab for one month. His whole personality changed and he lost too much weight. Along with my Mom, I had to testify what I saw before, during and after the episode because I was there when he coded. When we arrived at the mediation we saw one of the doctors who was very kind to us and advocated for us during his 3 month stay in ICU, but at the mediation, it turned out she was on the hospital's side. I can't remember how long the mediation was, but we had depositions here locally and then had to go into San Francisco (where the hospital was located and the mediation took place) several times.

My parents won their case, and did receive some money after the lawyers, private insurance and Medicare were reimbursed for what they paid out.

I wrote down everything I could remember as did the rest of the family so we could recall if needed and be consistent with our answers.

((Hugs)) to you as it will be very emotional I am sure. Please keep us posted.

They absolutely will try to lowball you. But, that is what your attorney is there to handle.

I hope you get a fair settlement without too much additional trauma.

Did you post about this before and said your sister was with you in the hospital and took very detailed notes of everything that happened? If so, I can imagine that's been extremely helpful for your case.

Mediation was the biggest waste of time and money for my case. I was suing someone and there was a countersuit. since our courts get very clogged, they required one session of mediation to work things out and avoid going to court. Both parties had to split the fees for the mediation and the cost of their attornies being there. The other party wouldn't budge on their suit. I offered a generous compromise just to end both suits. They rejected my compromise. It was a complete waste of a day. A couple of months later, we went to court and I won 100% of my law suit and they completely lost their counter suit. They should have taken my compromise but instead, they got NOTHING.

If the doctor wants to settle, you should have a successful day with getting to the end of the dispute.

Best of luck to you.

The point of mediation is compromise, so no one ever really leaves happy, but hopefully you will be satisfied with a resolution outside of court. 

Has your lawyer talked to you about a reasonable settlement range? You should have some idea of what your claim is worth going in so that you can evaluate any offers you receive.  On the flip side, your attorney should talk you to frankly about any weaknesses in your case if you go to trial. The great arguments that attorneys give to the other side reflect the best case scenario and not necessarily reality. Also, are there any limitations on what you can recover.  In Texas, medical malpractice claims are capped by statute.

I think a lot of attorneys overlook talking to their clients about the emotional toll of going to trial.  You will be asked to tell your very emotional and private story in a room full of strangers.  That's hard! There is value in not having to do that and all the stress that goes with it. 

If you're in the US, the doctor's settlement will likely be determined by his insurance company. Even if the doctor wants to settle or avoid being put on the stand, he may not have that option if his insurance carrier is opposed.

As for the nuts and bolts, you'll spend a lot of time in a room with your lawyer (real or zoom) while the mediator is talking to the other side. Sometimes mediations go straight to talking about money.  Others want to give you a chance to emotionally vent. And others might be the lawyers arguing about technical legal aspects of your case. There are a lot of different ways it can go.

I hope you have a productive day that ends with a good result for you!

Pain and suffering is a $250,000 max. What else did your atty sue for? Is there a post from you relating the details of what happened? You ended up with 2 perfs, who discovered this, what was the Drs response to that discovery? Did he at any time claim this was not his fault? Were other Drs brought in to fix the damage? These are things that would fall under punitive damages, and his mal practice insurance won't cover that, that is money the Dr has to actually pay. It also looks like gross negligence, and you can't buy insurance for doing bad things, so that would come from the dr. Were you employed before your surgery with an expectation that you would return to your job? If so you are also looking at lost wages for your ICU stay and however long after that that you were in hospital. If you work, have you had to work less hours, or are their aspects of your job you can no longer perform? This also relates to lost wages and future lost wages. That is money that his malpractice insurance would cover and is not related to the pain and suffering cap.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that there isn't just the $250,000 on the table. There is a good possibility of it being a lot more. Has your atty talked to you about all of these things? It sounds like your atty should have filed for pain and suffering, punitive damages and lost wages.

I hope I made enough sense for you to ask some questions of your atty.

AI is getting pretty good... The bots almost sound believable.

Tearisci - The whole thing from beginning to end sounds horrible. 

You're showing a good attitude in a situation where you have been (and continue to be) treated poorly. Life's just like that sometimes, with periods of deep suck, and your attitude can make all the difference in how you move forward once it resolves.

Have you recovered your health since the surgery?