The Effects of Court-Ordered Mediation in Workers’ Compensation Cases Filed in Circuit Court: Results from an Experiment Conducted in the Circuit Court for Baltimore County
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MARVIN B. MANDELL AND ANDREA MARSHALL. MARYLAND INSTITUTE FOR POLICY ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH, JUNE 2002. |
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Comparison Mandatory program as compared to voluntary program |
Variables
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Key Findings
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Description
Experimental design that looked at the impact of mandatory mediation on early resolution and number of notices of service of discovery filed for cases that became “at issue” between April 1, 2000 and June 11, 2001.
Method
Compared cases randomly assigned to a group for which mediation was mandated to those assigned to a group in which it was not in terms of the point in the case at which it was settled and amount of activity the case involved.
Sample Size
400 cases that became “at issue” during the study period and were eligible for the experiment (see comparison groups, above); 202 cases assigned to the treatment group, 198 to the control group. Ten cases in each group were not followed because of lack of data.
Program Variables
Mediation was mandatory for the treatment group, voluntary for the control group. Cases in the mandatory mediation group were required to complete at least two hours of mediation within three months of the issuance of the scheduling order. The program was newly established at the time of the study, although mediation had been available prior to the commencement of this experiment.
Full Findings
The percentage of cases that was resolved prior to the discovery deadline (120 days after the case becomes “at issue”) was 24.1% for the treatment group and 11.2% in the control group. Prior to the mandatory settlement conference (scheduled for one month prior to trial), 42.5% of the treatment cases were resolved and 28.5% of cases in the control group were resolved. 82.5% of treatment cases and 70.2% of cases in the control group were resolved prior to the scheduled trial date. Looking specifically at time to resolution, 13% of cases in the treatment were resolved within 3 months (the deadline for mediation), as compared to 9% of cases in the control group. Approximately 25% of cases in the treatment group were resolved within 4 months (the deadline for discovery), as opposed to 12% of control group cases. All other date-delimited percentages were the same. Thus, the main impact of mediation on time to disposition came within the first months of the life of the case.
An impact on discovery notices was also found – 37.0% of cases in the treatment group had two or more notices of service of discovery as compared to 56.4% of control group cases. This is statistically significant at the 1% level.
Report on Workers' Compensation Mediation Program of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia
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ROGER A. HANSON. NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS, 2000. |
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Comparison None |
Variables
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Key Findings
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Description
Examination of the efficacy of mediation of workers' compensation cases on appeal.
Method
Attorneys completed a questionnaire after the mediation session. Time to disposition was determined from court data.
Sample Size
862 cases mediated of 2020 cases filed
Program Variables
Mandatory program mediated by both staff and others compensated by the court. Services were provided free to the parties. The study was conducted at the end of the program's first year.
Full Findings
73% of attorneys were satisfied with the outcome of the mediation (27% very, 46% somewhat). Satisfaction was related to whether the attorney thought the other party was negotiating in good faith. Satisfaction was also related to whether the mediator was seen as facilitating negotiations or not. Satisfaction was NOT related to the outcome of the case.
Prior to the introduction of mediation the average number of days to the grant or denial of appeal was 448, with another 202 days to opinion. Mediation took 60 days to move from the filing of the petition for review to mediation (some took up to 120 days).
The Use of Mediation to Resolve Workers' Compensation Cases: A Report to the Tenth Appellate District of the Court of Appeals of Ohio
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ROGER A. HANSON. NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS, 1997. |
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Comparison Cases that were mandated to mediate and those that were not offered the opportunity to mediate |
Variables
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Key Findings
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Description
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.
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
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.
Full 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.