If Labor & Industries or other lien holder or coverage counsel is involved in your case, please be sure to alert WAMS at the time of scheduling of the likely participation by that non-party entity. If WAMS doesn’t have ample prior notice, that essential coverage attorney or representative from L&I or lien holder could be relegated to the WAMS hallway, which is not a popular location to be for 4 or more hours. Without prior notice from counsel, WAMS will be unaware of any such additional participants and cannot make suitable hearing room arrangements for them.

Additionally, those non-party participants really appreciate receiving a copy of the scheduling confirmation notice and directions from WAMS. If you send WAMS an email with the name and contact info for that participant in your case, we’ll be sure to send proper notification.

Lastly, if the lien holder happens to be Medicare, it’s advisable to provide notice to Medicare of an upcoming mediation at the earliest possible opportunity. Otherwise, plaintiffs’ attorneys have experienced delays of up to 6 months in resolving Medicare liens if notice was not provided well in advance of the mediation session.