EOC Week 2 Erin Brockovich

Although I have not seen the movie Erin Brockovich in its entirety the short viewing in class has peeked my interest. My personal opionion of the film was that the efforts of a caring woman and the money driven attorney, were determined to be a voice for a small town of people whom nobody really seemed to care about. I still feel that Erin Brockovich is a loving person, and the money driven attorney Ed Masry had their own personal agenda, however Hollywood has to make money also and what better way to do that then to sell tickets at the box office. People respond when they feel something. By the film being marketed based on a true story we the public tend to believe that the Hollywood script is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Life is not fair and justice is not fair either. I had to do research in order to find out more details of the events portrayed in the film. According to Brockovich.com Erin began working at Masry & Vititoe after she hired the law firm to represent her in a personal injury case due to a traffic accident. The settlement she received was not enough to secure her for the rest of her life. Little did she know this meeting would lead to a series of events that would forever change her life.

The case in 1996 involving residents of a small town in Hinkley, California which Erin discovered while filing papers, turned out to be the largest direct action lawsuit in U.S history. The utility giant Pacific Gas & Electric had been poising the small towns water for over 30 years. The poison affected the health of the population. The settlement was over 300 Million in damages to more than 600 Hinkley residents. Erin Brockovich received 2.5 Million as a bonus. Fumento.com stated that recent research on Chromium 6 exposure which was the chemical causing illnesses such as miscarages, rashes and even cancer from the Hinkley plant showed that "not only was there no excess of cancer when compared to the general California population, but the overall PG & E worker death rate was significantly much lower than those of other Californians. The real life aftermath to events portrayed in the movie provides a sobering twist on this "true story."