You have probably heard the word “arbitration” before. Maybe you have purchased a consumer product and looked at the fine print to discover a reference to arbitration. Perhaps you have seen a reference to it in some other context. In some situations, such as a consumer product purchase, you may not have much of a choice when it comes to submitting any disputes to arbitration. In other cases, however, you may have some negotiating power over the terms of a contract you are a party to. For example, perhaps you are negotiating a contract with a homebuilder for the construction of your new dream home and you have come across an arbitration clause. In these and similar instances, it is to your benefit to have a basic understanding of the concept of arbitration and know what you are losing and what you are gaining by agreeing to submit your disputes, should they arise, to arbitration.

Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution. In other words, it is a means of resolving disputes privately as an alternative to a formal lawsuit in court with a judge and jury. In arbitration, the judge is replaced by a private individual, usually chosen and paid for by the parties. Arbitrator rates vary widely and can range anywhere from a couple hundred in total to several hundred dollars per hour.

The benefit of an arbitrator, as opposed to a judge, is typically faster action on disputes that arise during the process. The arbitrator, unlike a judge with many other cases, will usually have more time to turn to your particular matter sooner. However, unlike a judge, who is funded by the taxpayers, an arbitrator’s bill can grow fast.

Another difference between arbitration and a formal lawsuit is the time between start and finish of the case. Lawsuits in court can drag on for months and oftentimes years. Arbitration, on the other hand, can be over in under six months or even sooner.

Arbitration moves faster than a formal lawsuit for a number of reasons. First, in arbitration, the parties are not competing for the court’s priority with hundreds, and oftentimes, thousands of other cases. Second, the arbitration process typically does not provide for beneficial tools known as “discovery” that help parties prove their claims and defenses. These discovery tools, including depositions, written questions, document requests, and more, while very useful in finding and fleshing out evidence, add time to the process. Because the tools are usually not available in arbitration, the process tends to move faster but it can also make it more difficult to prove claims and defenses if there is information you want from the other side.

Before agreeing to any contract with an arbitration clause included, you should consider consulting an attorney who can advise you further on these and many other advantages and disadvantages of choosing this method for resolving disputes with the other party or parties to your contract, should they arise.

 

We hope that you never end up in an automobile accident. However, automobile accidents happen every day, and should you become involved in one, you want to make sure that you have adequate insurance coverage.

The type of automobile insurance coverage that most drivers are familiar with is liability coverage. In Wisconsin, you are required to carry automobile liability insurance of at least $25,000. Liability coverage means the amount available to cover your liability to another party should you be responsible for his or her injuries arising from the accident. While $25,000 is the minimum coverage you must legally carry, that amount is likely insufficient to protect you in the event the other driver and passengers sustain injuries. Larger liability coverage amounts are available through most insurers, including amounts up to $250,000 or even $500,000.

Beyond basic liability coverage, you should also consider acquiring umbrella coverage, which is relatively inexpensive coverage that applies in the event a claim exceeds your basic liability limits. Umbrella coverage is usually for $1 million or more and usually requires underlying limits of a minimum amount, such as $250,000.

If another driver is responsible (or at-fault) for injuring you in a vehicle accident, that driver might not have auto insurance (even though the law requires it) or might have insufficient insurance coverage. This is where two other relatively inexpensive coverages may help—underinsured motorist (UIM) and uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. For example, if you sustain damages of $250,000 and the other driver has only $100,000 of liability coverage, if you have $250,000 of UIM coverage, your UIM coverage will pay the remaining $150,000. Thus, by having UIM and UM coverage, you will be protected in the event the other driver has insufficient coverage or no coverage.

Hopefully, you also carry good medical insurance. If you are injured in an auto accident, medical expenses can be substantial. What most people do not know is that their automobile policy includes medical coverage for injuries arising from an automobile accident. However in most cases, that coverage is minimal, such as $10,000. You may, and we recommend you consider, acquiring much higher coverage. Medical payments coverage in an automobile policy is usually relatively inexpensive.

Protect yourself and buy sufficient liability, medical, umbrella, underinsured, and uninsured insurance coverage. In the unfortunate event you are injured in an automobile accident, you will know that you have sufficient coverage available to compensate you for your injuries and damages.

Finally, while you might have sufficient coverage, wrestling with an insurance company to pay your claim is not a simple task. Attorneys who handle car accident cases all the time know what works and can help you get the top dollar from your insurance company. In the event you are in an auto accident, don’t wait and contact your personal injury attorney right away.

 

If you have been in an automobile accident, you may have several claims to consider. First, you may have a bodily injury claim to consider if you were injured and the other party was equally or more responsible than you. If that party does not have insurance or does not have enough insurance, you may have what is called an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim under your own automobile insurance. Finally, if you lose a loved one to a motor vehicle accident, you may have a wrongful death claim against the negligent party.

If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, you may have several categories of damages. These include medical expenses, lost wages for time you may have been off of work, and future lost wages if you will not be able to return to your current job. In addition, you may be entitled to pain and suffering. If your damages total $100,000 but the other driver who is responsible only has a $25,000 liability policy, where will you recover the other $75,000 from? If you have underinsured motorist coverage under your own automobile policy, you should begin by looking at your limits. If you have $100,000 of underinsured motorist coverage, under most policies the $25,000 you recover from the negligent driver’s insurer will come off of your limits, leaving you with $75,000 of underinsured motorist coverage. If the other driver had no insurance, you would look to your uninsured motorist coverage. In this case, if you have $100,000 of uninsured motorist coverage, you will be looking entirely to your own automobile insurer for recovery.

In the above scenarios, you have three years from the date of the accident to sue the other driver and his or her insurer. Of course, you should always put your own automobile insurer on notice immediately after the motor vehicle accident, especially in light of the fact that you may not learn of the other driver’s liability limits until much later. The lower the other driver’s limits and the higher your damages, the more likely an underinsured motorist claim becomes. For automobile accidents occurring on or after February 6, 2016, you have three years from the date you resolve your bodily injury claim with the other negligent driver to bring a contractual claim (by lawsuit or, if required by your policy, by arbitration) against your own automobile insurer for underinsured motorist coverage if your insurer refuses to pay the full underinsured amount that the policy requires. The same is true if you learn that the other driver is uninsured. For automobile accidents occurring on or after February 6, 2016, you have three years from the date that you resolve matters with the uninsured driver to sue your own auto insurer if you feel the insurer has not paid the full amount of the uninsured claim that the policy requires.

Finally, in the unthinkable event that you lose a loved one to an automobile accident, depending on who else has survived the decedent, you may have a wrongful death claim. Unlike bodily injury claims, the time limit within which to bring suit for a wrongful death claim has recently been reduced to two years for auto accidents occurring on or after February 6, 2016.

Contacting a lawyer after being injured in a motor vehicle accident is always a good idea. Representatives for the other driver’s insurer will usually be looking to settle your claims quickly. Having a competent lawyer on your side will protect you against settling for an amount that does not fully compensate you for your injuries.

Understanding Different Mechanisms Involving Your Dispute

Arbitration and litigation – you may have heard both of these words before and wondered what they mean. On the other hand, you may have given little or no thought to it at all. In either case, a basic understanding of these two very different but related concepts is important because many of us have agreed or likely will agree to one of these two dispute resolution mechanisms at least once in our lives. In addition, as the cost of traditional legal battles has increased over time, parties to a dispute are turning to a third dispute resolution mechanism – mediation.

Litigation is a traditional means of resolving disputes that we are all probably most familiar with. It entails the filing of a lawsuit with what is known as a complaint, followed by a period of investigation known as discovery and often settlement or, in increasingly rare cases, a trial before a judge or jury. Litigation, like the other two dispute resolution mechanisms, has its positives as well as its negatives.

Litigation is supervised by a judge who is paid for by tax dollars. Litigation also provides parties with a right of appeal to an appellate court, should they disagree with a decision at the trial court level. Litigation also allows the parties to engage in far more investigation than they would in mediation or arbitration.

Litigation, however, is often a long, drawn-out process. Depending on the court’s docket and the length of time required to try the case, it is not uncommon for a trial to be at least one year from the filing of the complaint. Litigation can also be costly, not in terms of court fees, but in terms of discovery costs. Discovery costs have only increased over the years, particularly as our lives have become more and more documented with things like computers, email, and social media.

During the litigation process, parties will often get to a point where they attempt the dispute resolution mechanism at the other end of the spectrum – mediation. Mediation is an informal means of resolving a dispute whereby each side submits its case to a third-party neutral person, often called a mediator. Mediators are often experienced lawyers or retired judges. The mediator will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each side’s case and attempt to reach a middle ground that is satisfactory to both sides. Mediators, of course, cost money, but that amount will often pale in comparison to the amount required to proceed through trial.

Arbitration is a means of dispute resolution that is probably appropriately situated between mediation and litigation. Parties often find themselves in arbitration because they previously entered into an agreement whereby they agreed to submit any disputes arising from the agreement to an arbitrator. Often, agreed-to arbitration is binding, in which case the parties have agreed to waive any right to take their dispute to a court if they are unhappy with the arbitrator’s decision.

Although arbitration is usually a quicker means of resolving disputes, it is also more costly in terms of filing and arbitrator fees. Discovery is also often limited and at the discretion of the arbitrator, a fact that can severely hamper a party’s ability to investigate its case through document requests and depositions.

While a basic understanding of these dispute resolution mechanisms is important, you should always consult a licensed attorney who can appropriately advise you on which one is most efficient and effective for your particular dispute. If you are entering into a contract, pay particular attention to clauses referencing dispute resolution, like binding arbitration clauses, and discuss this with an attorney prior to signing the contract to get advice on how these and other clauses could affect you in the event that a dispute arises.