What is Arbitration?
Contract disputes may require Arbitration instead of court. That's usually included in "the fine print". Personal Injury disputes could be handled by Arbitration, usually if the claim is for Uninsured or UnderInsured Motorist Coverage against your own company. Arbitrators are either lawyers or former judges, and may be a single Arbitrator or a panel of three, one representing the victim, one representing the insurance company, and the third "neutral" arbitrator chosen by the other two. Arbitration does include witnesses, and submission of evidence but the rules may be relaxed somewhat from a jury trial in civil court. Arbitration is only binding upon agreement of the parties, and if not, either side can ignore the ruling and proceed to litigation. In the Municipal Court of Cook County, Arbitration is Mandatory before trial, but either side may reject the three panel arbitrators decision, and pay $200 for a subsequent jury trial.
