Description
When a cluster of childhood leukemia cases emerges in Woburn, Massachusetts, one determined mother and a tenacious lawyer embark on a grueling legal battle against powerful corporations suspected of contaminating the town's water supply. Jonathan Harr's gripping non-fiction account follows Jan Schlichtmann as he takes on major defendants including Beatrice Foods and W.R. Grace, uncovering evidence of trichloroethylene (TCE) poisoning while navigating the complex and costly machinery of the American legal system. As the discovery process and trial stretch on, Schlichtmann's personal finances and professional relationships are tested to their breaking point, raising profound questions about justice, corporate accountability, and the true cost of fighting for the vulnerable. This meticulously researched narrative captures the human drama behind environmental litigation and the extraordinary lengths ordinary people will go to hold corporations responsible for harm. A Civil Action stands as a powerful examination of how the legal system works—and sometimes fails—when ordinary citizens challenge entrenched corporate interests.
Available Editions
paperback
Vintage Books
Published Jan 1, 1996
502 pages
ISBN: 9780679772675
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Details
First Published
1995
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr.