Whiplash: Negotiation and Clean Driving Record
The Whiplash Negotiation – MetroMart
Background
Acting in the capacity of the in-house lawyer for MetroMart Supermarkets Limited, I was charged with handling a claim against one of our drivers who was accused of careless driving which resulted in his truck colliding into the back of the car of one of our customers.
Our driver, who has a clean driving record, said in his statement that the traffic was really quiet heavy and moving relatively slowly when the plaintiff, Mrs. Johnson, who was driving directly ahead of him, suddenly slammed on her brakes without any warning. Consequently, the MetroMart truck collided with the back of her car.
Our driver claims that he is not to be blamed for the accident because in addition to the fact that Mrs. Johnson failed to signal before suddenly stopping her vehicle, she was also disoriented when she got out of her car after the accident had occurred and he also theorized that she had alcohol in her system having sampled wine in the store before getting behind the wheel of her car.
MetroMart wishes to avoid any adverse publicity from this incident and so even though it appears that Mrs. Johnson’s injuries may be caused by her age as opposed to the accident, it seems to be in the interest of both parties to negotiate a settlement with Mrs. Johnson’s lawyer, Mrs. Tamara Daley-Brown.
The average sum currently awarded for such injuries is in the region of $250,000 to $500,000.
Preparation
In preparing for the negotiation, I decided to approach it from the angle where we try to arrive at a monetary settlement that would be reasonably received by both parties since MetroMart wished to avoid negative publicity and Mrs. Johnson was seeking compensation for moneys that she had allegedly spent due to injuries suffered as a result of the accident. In my reasoning, Mrs. Johnson had the law on her side, since our driver had indeed ran into the back of her vehicle but on the other hand, MetroMart had the power and the resources to
Background
Acting in the capacity of the in-house lawyer for MetroMart Supermarkets Limited, I was charged with handling a claim against one of our drivers who was accused of careless driving which resulted in his truck colliding into the back of the car of one of our customers.
Our driver, who has a clean driving record, said in his statement that the traffic was really quiet heavy and moving relatively slowly when the plaintiff, Mrs. Johnson, who was driving directly ahead of him, suddenly slammed on her brakes without any warning. Consequently, the MetroMart truck collided with the back of her car.
Our driver claims that he is not to be blamed for the accident because in addition to the fact that Mrs. Johnson failed to signal before suddenly stopping her vehicle, she was also disoriented when she got out of her car after the accident had occurred and he also theorized that she had alcohol in her system having sampled wine in the store before getting behind the wheel of her car.
MetroMart wishes to avoid any adverse publicity from this incident and so even though it appears that Mrs. Johnson’s injuries may be caused by her age as opposed to the accident, it seems to be in the interest of both parties to negotiate a settlement with Mrs. Johnson’s lawyer, Mrs. Tamara Daley-Brown.
The average sum currently awarded for such injuries is in the region of $250,000 to $500,000.
Preparation
In preparing for the negotiation, I decided to approach it from the angle where we try to arrive at a monetary settlement that would be reasonably received by both parties since MetroMart wished to avoid negative publicity and Mrs. Johnson was seeking compensation for moneys that she had allegedly spent due to injuries suffered as a result of the accident. In my reasoning, Mrs. Johnson had the law on her side, since our driver had indeed ran into the back of her vehicle but on the other hand, MetroMart had the power and the resources to
References: Lewicki, Roy et al (2010) Negotiation: Readings, Exercises and Cases, 6th Edition McGraw-Hill Maiese, Michelle. "Interests, Rights, Power and Needs Frames." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Information Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: September 2004. Retrieved from http://www.beyondintractability.org on February 7, 2013.