Arbitration with respect to Massachusetts personal injury claims is essentially a voluntary process. With the exceptions of Massachusetts underinsured and uninsured motorist claims, the decision to arbitrate a personal injury claim is a mutual decision arrived at by the relevant parties. Often, the parties to an arbitration will agree to a high/low agreement before the arbitration.

A high/low agreement is demonstrated by the following example. Suppose that the parties agree to a high/low of 10k/20k. This means that whatever award, if any, the arbitrator issues, the claimant will receive no less than 10k nor no more than 20k. Or, the insurance company will have to pay a minimum of 10k and a maximum of 20k. This is a safeguard, and a risk, that the parties use to provide that their respective exposure and risk are minimized.

Whether or not a high/low agreement is favorable to you in a Massachusetts personal injury arbitration depends upon the facts of your case.