Rhode Island Nightclub Fire

Two Rhode Island television stations and a cameraman have agreed to a settlement with some of the the plaintiffs in the 2003 nightclub fire that killed 100 people. The lawsuit alleges that an exit door was blocked by the cameraman which did not allow patrons to leave the nightclub after the fire broke out. The tentative settlement, reached in a mediation, for $30 million is the largest settlement from the 2003 fire.

Boston Globe 2/2/08

Mediation can be a very useful tool in the facilitation of settlements in personal injury cases. In a mediation, a skilled mediatior will have the parties put forth their side of the case to the parties in the mediaton and have each party state what they would prove should the case go to trial. Usually the mediator will then separate each of the parties into different rooms. In most cases, the mediator will go back and forth between each room in an attempt to bring the parties closer together to a mutually agreeable number. Frequently, parties request a mediation in personal inury cases because they do not feel that a settlement can be reached on their own and they need the assistance of someone else.