A Civil Action

It's like this. A dead plaintiff is rarely worth as much

as a living, severely maimed plaintiff.

However, if it's a long, agonising death,

as opposed to a quick drowning or car wreck,

the value can rise considerably.

A dead adult in his 20s is worth less than a middle-aged one,

a dead woman less than a dead man,

single adults less than married,

black less than white, poor less than rich.

But the perfect victim is a white, male, professional -

40 years old, at the height of his earning power,

struck down in his prime.

And the most imperfect?

Well, in the calculus of personal injury law,

a dead child is worth least of all.

A million dollars he turns down.

One million dollars! - I don't believe their story.

It's true. - Come on!

Hey, Eddie. How you doing? - Good.

Do me a favour - shut the fuck up.

Our banker there doesn't know Jan refused a million.

Sorry. - Yeah.

Asshole.

How's your head? Up?

How's that? OK? Are you comfortable?

Open?

Here we go.

All rise.

This court is now in session.

The Honourable Constance Mullen presiding.

Would you like some water?

Carney versus Massachusetts General Hospital -

case number 812725.

Attorneys, please state your appearance.

Randolph Woodside, Mass General.

Greg Monk, Massachusetts General Hospital.

Harold Peshniak, Mass General.

Jan Schlichtmann for Paul Carney.

Kevin Conway for Mr Carney, Your Honour.

Mr Schlichtmann, we're ready for your opening statement.

Your Honour, if it please the court,

the parties involved have agreed to a settlement.

Personal injury law has a bad reputation.

They call us ambulance chasers, bottom feeders,

vultures preying on the misfortunes of others.

If that's true, why do I lie awake worrying about my clients?

Why is their pain my pain?

I wish I didn't empathise. It'd be a lot easier.

We're speaking to Jan Schlichtmann, personal injury attorney

and according to Boston magazine - have you seen this? -

one of Boston's ten most eligible bachelors.

Let's go back to the phones. Woburn, you're on the air.

Mr Schlichtmann, it's Anne Anderson.

Hello. - How are you?

Very well. You? Sounds pretty.

How come you never call me?

If I had your number, I would. - You have it.

I do? - You have no idea who I am?

Is this Ricky? - No.

You see, my son died of leukaemia two years ago.

Your firm is handling the case. - We are?

The reason I'm calling you here

is because my calls to your offices have gone unreturned for weeks.

Sorry, your name was? - Anne.

Anne... - Anderson.

I'm writing that down. I'm gonna take care of this.

Why don't you come up to Woburn

and actually meet a few of those people whose pain is your pain?

Let me picture this.

She called you, she cried. You felt sorry and you cried.

Now she's mad. - It's a good case.

She's not crying now! - An orphan, but good.

12 deaths over 15 years from leukaemia - eight of them children.

That's unusual? - Statistically. It's a small town.

She lost a child?

They think it's something to do with the city's drinking water

which they say tastes funny.

What was she like before?

Do want to hear what it's about? - No, I don't!

I'd like to hear about it.

Thank you, Kathy.

There's a report here from state inspectors

saying that the water from two city wells

is contaminated - or was before they shut them down -

with something called... I can't pronounce this...

trichlorethylene...ethylene,

which the EPA lists as a probable carcinogen.

Stop. - There's more.

No, from a financial standpoint, this is not a sound investment.

Probable is a euphemism for unproven.

To prove something like this, you need new medical research.

Is that our business - medical research?

And...and ask yourself, why is this an orphan?

It's been kicked around before ending up on your desk.

Gordon's right.

I can appreciate the theatrical value of dead kids.

That's good. But that's all it has going for it, and it's not enough.

I'll get rid of it.

I'll...just go up there and...

You'll both start to cry again, she'll be mad at me.

I'll do it. I'll get rid of it. Give it to me.

Thank you.

There you go, sir. - Thank you.

Drive careful. - Yeah.

When I stand on my porch,

I can see the houses where children died.

These are the Kanes, the Toomeys, the Zohners,

the Robbins and the Aufieros.

Now, I want to be clear.

I'm not interested in money - none of us are.

What we want is to know what happened. And we want an apology.

From who? - Whoever did this.

I want somebody to come and say, "We're responsible.

"We didn't mean it, but we're sorry."

But who is that?

Well, we don't know.

Mrs Anderson, our firm is very small, just three attorneys.

We can only take so many cases at once

and we have to be choosy because, frankly, we can't afford to lose.

We pay everything. We only get paid if we win or settle.

I know. - You want an apology.

And I'd love to get you that apology, but from who?

Who is going to apologise to you and pay me?

There has to be a defendant with very deep pockets.

This is not an inexpensive case to try.

There's an old tannery out there.

A tannery?

And some other small factories.

I really wish I could help you but I can't. I'm sorry.

Maybe you could go out to the river, to the wells, and look.

For what? What would that accomplish?

I do hope you find someone. And I am sorry.

Thank you very much. - Drive carefully.

It was fate.

I was meant to get that ticket, at that moment, at that exact spot.

Do you know who Beatrice is?

Peter Pan peanut butter,

Tropicana orange juice,

Rosarita Mexican Food,

Swiss Miss cocoa, Samsonite luggage... The list goes on!

And the other one? - W.R. Grace.

Chemical plants in two dozen states,

South America, Europe and Japan.

What's this? - The ticket.

No, I've got that right here.

I got two speeding tickets. - A two-ticket town?

Exactly. Don't take your Caddie there.

Kevin, it's a gold mine. You almost let it get away.

I almost let it get away.

Lawsuits are war - it's as simple as that.

And they begin the same way, with a declaration of war -

the complaint.

When you're a small firm and they're big,

steeped in history and wealth,

with Persian carpets on the floor

and Harvard diplomas on the walls,

it's easy to be intimidated.

Don't - that's what they want.

That's what they expect, like all bullies.

That's how they win.

I don't run away from bullies.

Mr Facher...

Mr Doyle asked me to bring this to you.

When?

When did he ask me? - Yeah.

Just now.

On your lunch break? That hardly seems fair.

I almost never go to lunch, sir. Too much to do.

I just grab something.

You know, I'd make a point of taking an hour or so

away from all the noise and insanity.

I should do that.

I'd find a place that was relatively quiet and peaceful,

have a sandwich, read a magazine.

Maybe listen to a game if one was on.

I'd make sure everyone knew not to disturb me during that hour.

Because that would be my time - my own private time,

which no-one, if they had any sense of self-preservation,

would dare interrupt.

If I were you.

I'm sorry.

Jesus.

Jesus!

Jesus...

Mr Facher, it's Bill Cheeseman - Foley, Hoag and Elliot.

We represent New York Grace.

How you doing?

Well, all right, I guess, under the circumstances.

What circumstances are those?

Woburn - these outrageous charges.

This bloodsucking ambulance chaser, Schlichtmann.

Who?

We're co-defendants in a lawsuit, Mr Facher, a very serious lawsuit.

What? - What is that thumping?

Yeah, well, it's gone now. It was driving me crazy!

I was wondering if I could talk to you.

Could we meet for a drink or... - What's on your mind?

I'll tell you what I'm thinking.

Are you familiar with Rule 1 1? - With what?

Rule 1 1 , a civil provision