While watching the film A Civil Action, I identified some legal issues that struck me within the film. One was negligence and the other, an ethical dilemma. I discovered that the two companies, Grace and Beatrice, have knowingly dumped toxic chemical solvents for years and have made no attempt to clean up or contain the toxic chemical waste. This shows negligence as they take no action to properly take care of their waste. We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The other problem, the ethical dilemma, involves Mr. Granger, the driver for a local trucking company. He was hired by the J. Riley Leather Company to drive the truck that dumped barrels of toxic solvents into the river. Mr. Granger not only knew he was dumping dangerous toxins, but he also knew there was a lawsuit against the J. Riley Leather Company, but he never came forward as an eyewitness during the entire trial. After the case with W.R. Grace is solved, Jan comes across the fact that J. Riley Leather did not dump the toxic waste himself, but rather hired a third party to do so. Upon further investigation, Jan discovers the payments made to the trucking company. He confronts Mr. Granger, who eventually reveals that Mr. Riley, the owner of the J. Riley Leather Company, gave him a pair of Boston Celtics tickets and told him to "keep his mouth shut" about the waste hauling. In my opinion, Mr. Granger should have come forward as an eyewitness when he knew there was a case against J. Riley. He shouldn't have accepted Celtics tickets and kept quiet about what he knew for so long. Jan had an eyewitness who came forward against WR Grace, but she had no eyewitnesses against Beatrice Foods. The case against Beatrice Foods would have been much stronger and perhaps would not have been dismissed if Mr. Granger had come forward. Although Mr. Granger was associated with the dumping of the toxins, he was ultimately not responsible for the toxins killing 8 children; the companies were Grace and Beatrice. Grace and Beatrice Company were both aware that the toxic solvents they disposed of were toxic and very dangerous. They ignored this fact and did nothing to prevent the chemicals from contaminating the city's drinking water. Furthermore, they tried to hide their actions even while people were getting sick and dying. They should have taken responsibility and done everything in their power to clean up the water, but they chose not to. I believe Mr. Riley was an even worse offender because he had ties to the community. He knew the residents of Woburn, but still tried to hide the disposal. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay All in all, watching the movie was a good way to learn about many ethical issues that occur in the real world. I learned a lot about civil lawsuits and many ethical issues that can arise during the process. I now realize that lawyers and legal processes are very expensive and that a lot of money is needed to fight a civil case against powerful defendants with “deep pockets”. It is costly for both the prosecution and the defendants. I also learned that it is important to consider the environmental impact of all business activities. Many large companies overlook the environmental side effect in favor of short-term profit, but this ends up costing millions of dollars in lawsuits later and may even cause the company to go bankrupt..