Answer:
a. No. A state court will do a better job in this case because it exercises unlimited jurisdiction. Moreover, you can only bring your case to a federal court if the amount of your claim is up to $75,000 or the issue is exclusive to the federal court. This is not the case here.
b. Yes and No. We need some additional information about the accident location to help answer this question definitively.
c. No. You should not consider accepting the offered settlement. The jury award is meant to pay for your medical bills and also to help you recover financially as though the accident did not happen in the first place. Accepting any lesser amount after the judgment is rendered is in bad taste. The other party should have negotiated to settle out of court before the final judgment was rendered. But it did not. So, go with the jury award.
Explanation:
a) Data and Calculations:
Missed work for 15 weeks
Total medical bills incurred = $50,000
Total lost wages incurred = $15,000
Jury award = $100,000 ($50,000 for medical, $15,000 for lost wages and $35,000 for punitive damages)
Settlement offer = $50,000
