Mediation
Mediation is one way Alabama workers' compensation disputes get narrowed, resolved, or prepared for trial. This page is intentionally modest. It is a resource page, not a main sales page.
Mediation can help the injured worker, employer, insurance carrier, and lawyers discuss medical treatment, weekly benefits, permanent restrictions, future medical care, settlement structure, Medicare issues, Social Security Disability overlap, and whether the worker can realistically return to work.
It does not replace legal advice and does not decide the case unless the parties agree. In serious cases, mediation may be most useful after the core proof is developed: medical records, restrictions, wage records, FCE results, MMI opinions, vocational concerns, and Social Security Disability status.
The Alabama Department of Labor Workers' Compensation Ombudsman Program describes free dispute resolution through mediation and says its objective is to work quickly and informally to help parties take steps to settle workers' compensation differences before going to court.
Open the Alabama Department of Labor Workers' Compensation Ombudsman Program
Some serious cases use private mediation instead of, or in addition to, an ombudsman process. Private mediation may be helpful when the case involves permanent restrictions, competing medical opinions, vocational disability, future medical exposure, a Medicare Set-Aside, retaliatory discharge concerns, or a work-related truck or car accident.
Gregory T. Denny and William V. Powell, Jr. have both participated in more than 100 mediations involving workers' compensation, disability, and injury issues. William V. Powell, Jr. is also a certified mediator himself.
Applying the information
Workers' compensation questions can depend on records, dates, medical evidence, and facts outside the scope of a general resource. A qualified Alabama workers' compensation lawyer can review how the rules apply to a specific situation.
Publication notice. The Alabama Work Injury Report is an information publication of Powell & Denny, P.C. It provides general Alabama workers' compensation and disability-information only, is not legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and does not predict any result. This page is a paid advertisement. Powell & Denny, P.C., 1320 Alford Avenue, Suite 201, Birmingham, Alabama 35226, is responsible for its content. No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers. Reading this site or using an evaluator does not require you to contact Powell & Denny. Alabama workers' compensation can be difficult to understand, and no online checklist can cover every possible fact pattern. Even if an evaluator shows a lower-warning or green-style result, that does not mean you do not need a lawyer. If you are worried about your claim, we encourage you to call a qualified Alabama workers' compensation lawyer even if it is not us. If you contact Powell & Denny and we are not the right fit, you may ask us about referring you to another firm.