The Movie A Civil Action
The Movie A Civil Action was very captivating, engrossing and enlightening as I got to learn various aspects from it such as there are some industries in our society which release wastes into the environment without proper caution and treatment. Many people in the movie have contracted diseases such as leukemia which has adversely affected their health as a result of industries contaminating the environment (Sep Mar). The movie also sheds light on the legal system as I realized that some attorneys only take some cases when they know that the stakes of the proceedings will make them prosper in the legal world. This is evident as Jan only took the case because it aimed at flushing out corporate greed and dubious ethics in Woburn.
Insights on the Legal Process
After watching the movie some aspects became clear as I got to understand that the legal process especially trials takes a lot of time and resources. The plaintiffs in the cases end up using around two million dollars for legal documents and reports to help them get settlements from the companies. I also learnt that the attorneys have a lot of responsibility laid on them which burdens them psychologically especially when the case goes converse to what was expected. When Jan Lost the Beatrice Foods case, he considered ending his legal practice and also his life due to the depression (Sep Mar).
Different Feelings Regarding the Topic
There was no need for the cases to be complex to the extent of court hearings, the companies should have been responsible and analyzed all the activities of its operations. The companies should have had from the beginning measures in place to prevent the waste products and chemicals from being released back into the environment while toxic. Through taking into consideration the sterilizing of hazardous substances before being released into the environment, there would be no cases against the companies in courts. Also, I think there was no need for the companies to hire expensive and tactical defense lawyers to help prevent the companies from making settlements. The companies knew that the chemicals released were the ones that affected the health of the members of public yet they were trying to portray that they were not during the trials through the defense attorneys.
Ethical Issues in the Movie
Several Ethical issues can be identified from the movie and the first one is concerning the well which was opened near a modern park which many people complained had water with a foul smell and made people sick (Sep Mar). The people complained and wanted the city to close the well to prevent more people from getting sick but the city declined the pleas for several years. This is an ethical issue as the city was putting the lives of the residents at risk by not closing the well since the water contained Trichloroethylene which affected the people’s health. Had the city chose to close the well in accordance with the complaints, the people’s lives would be healthy and safe.
Management of Toxic Wastes
Another ethical issue is regarding the management of wastes by the processing companies. The companies did not carefully manage the toxic wastes that were being released to maintain environmental sustainability. The company should have taken the responsibility to make sure the wastes from the company could not have harmed the wellbeing of people. Another ethical issue is when the EPA absolved the companies of the blame of affecting people’s health without proper investigation. In the real sense the companies expelled pollutants into the environment and even the Center for Disease Control (CDC) made reports indicating leukemia rates were high than normal up to seven times (Sep Mar). The EPA should have done thorough investigations to hold the companies accountable instead of dismissal without proper evidence.
Work Cited
Sep Mar. “A Civil Action.” YouTube. (2017). Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nChJlp_msU
Online.
