This report examines the workers' compensation mediation program in the Tenth Appellate District of Ohio. In this program, "cases were referred to mediation on a random assignment basis. . . mediated cases were similar to nonmediated or control group cases in all other respects." Mediation proved effective in increasing settlement rates (44% were settled in mediated cases, compared to 24% in the control group). Attorneys who handled cases in the experimental group were satisfied with the outcome of mediation. "However, mediation did not speed up either the timing of settlements or the processing time of the nonsettled cases. Mediation took an extra amount of time." [taken from abstract]
Description of Study: Study of the efficacy of the mediation of mandamus actions in workers' compensation cases.
Method: Cases were randomly assigned to mediation or control groups. Four hundred questionnaires were mailed to lawyers who handled cases that were mediated; 243 were returned.
Comparative: Yes
Comparison Groups: Cases that were mandated to mediate and those that were not offered the opportunity to mediate
Sample Size: For time to disposition and settlement rate data, 312 cases were examined of total of 388. These included 198 mediated cases and 152 non-mediated cases. 243 of 400 attorneys responded to questionnaire
Variables Examined: Settlement rate, time to disposition, satisfaction of attorneys
Program Variables: One mediator who was an experienced workers' compensation attorney was hired. Mediation was mandatory for cases in the mediation group and was provided free to parties. The program had been in existence less than one year at the time of study.
Findings: Mediation did not accelerate the timing of settlement, but increased the settlement rate. The settlement rate was 44% for the mediation group and 24% for the control group.
The median number of days to settlement for mediated cases was 146; for non-mediated cases it was 109 (for settled cases only). For non-settled cases mediation added time to some cases that finish quickly, but had no overall effect on the pace of settlement.
19% of attorneys were very satisfied with the outcome, while 48% were somewhat satisfied. Satisfaction was most highly related to whether the attorney thought opposing counsel was negotiating in good faith.