Which medical dispute cases may the mediation panel take through the summary mediation procedure, and what must it do first?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the application for mediation and each side's statement of position, to see how far they disagree on the facts and on fault; we also read the appraisal panel's opinion on the content and nature of the medical accident and any fault, and any communication telling the applicant and respondent the result of the council hearing their views.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision as a permission with conditions: the mediation panel may, where the parties have no major disagreement on facts and fault, or fault is clear or the facts and issues are simple, or an analogous case as the Presidential Decree provides, use the summary procedure in which appraisal is omitted or a single appraiser appraises; it must hear the appraisal panel's opinion, and hear both parties and notify them without delay.
Another reading stresses the provision's limits: which procedure is used rests on the council's own judgement, the third item simply refers to cases 'analogous' to the others as the Decree provides, and the provision does not say how large a disagreement over facts and fault counts as a 'big' one, so the boundary of the summary route is left open.
Your judgment
When the parties' written positions contradict each other on fault, what in the file shows whether that disagreement is too great for the summary procedure?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change the qualifying cases or the duties before using the summary procedure, or if a decision explains when the council may convert a case to the ordinary mediation procedure.