Even though he may need to be institutionalized due to his dementia, Jay Pritchfork is still the CEO OF Pritchfork's Closets & Blinds. One of his employees, Doug, hired an attorney, who filed a workers compensation claim against his business. The employee claims that he developed a serious lung condition, COPD working a wood working machine from the fumes, odors, dust and other environmental irritants. Doug, aged 56, had worked there for a little over one year. He has an MD, a local general practice physician, who has given a statement the chemicals and wood dust caused Doug's COPD.

Jay hires his son Mitchell Pritchfork as his attorney, and Mitchel claims that Doug smoked two packs of camels a day for over 20 years, and that is what caused his COPD. He has a doctor, a pulmonologist at UCLA who gave a statement that it was the smoking that cause the COPD.

In this jurisdiction, the law states that in order to recover workers compensation benefits, the claimant must prove a condition/injury which would prevent him from working in that field. Once he has done so, the burden shifts to the defendant company to prove that work did not cause it, which is a total defense.

You are selected by the parties to mediate this case. In essay form, based on the four steps outlined in your text, indicate what actions you would take at each step you would take as a mediator to facilitate settlement in this case. Explain in detail the techniques and strategies you would use in steps 3 and 4 in a case such as this. Also on a separate page, be sure to summarize your experience in the group project describing both the positive and negative effects their collaboration had on solving the issues presented