Arbitration vs Litigation What's the Difference?

When a person suffers the loss of property, or a personal injury that they feel was caused by another person or entity's negligence or actions, they have choices to recover damages. These choices are arbitration or litigation. Sometimes, the person signed an agreement with an employer or service provider obligating them to use arbitration. In other cases, the injured party may try working with the responsible party or their insurance carrier and not get satisfaction. In these cases, the injured parties will hire a law firm to help them with litigation.

Arbitration vs Litigation

It is essential for anyone seeking damages for losses or a personal injury caused by another party to know the different methods of seeking damages before choosing which way to go. Seeking the advice and assistance of a qualified law firm is a good start. It is possible to learn the difference when you visit raiznerlaw.com. The choice is generally whether to seek arbitration or pursue litigation. It is essential to know a little about each option.

Litigation

Litigation is the word that describes legal proceedings that follow the filing of a lawsuit. This process is designed to settle an issue such as personal injury between the defendant or responsible party and the victim or injured party by enforcing or defending a legal right within a court-supervised proceeding.

The process might work like this. A person is injured in an accident. They hire a personal injury attorney to file a claim with an insurance company. The attorney files a settlement demand with the insurance company. The insurance company may choose to settle this claim during a reasonable time after the incident. Each party will do an investigation of the facts of the case. If the parties do not come to a settlement agreement, the attorney for the injured party will file a lawsuit against the defendant. A trial date will be set, and a judge will be assigned your case. Then, a trial will happen where both parties present their cases. A judge or a jury will then make a final decision and order an award in the case.

Arbitration

Arbitration is a legal alternative to litigation where both parties agree to present their evidence and legal positions to a neutral third party, or arbitrator, for resolution. This legal form of dispute resolution can be faster and less expensive than litigation. Employers, service providers, and other entities may have arbitration clauses in contracts people sign. This may limit a person's rights to seek damages to arbitration unless a lawyer can successfully challenge the arbitration clause in court.

There are several types of arbitration, including commercial or contract arbitration, labour arbitration, grievance arbitration, securities arbitration, judicial arbitration, and court-ordered arbitration. Each kind of arbitration has its own set of rules and its own process.

There are different legal opinions on whether arbitration or litigation is more effective for injured parties. Each case has its own circumstances, and it would take a qualified lawyer to determine the best legal alternative for seeking injury damages. If the injured party has signed an agreement that contains an arbitration clause, even if they did not know it was part of the contract, they may be obligated to use arbitration. The arbitration clause and how it is written may leave it open to dispute.