However, Erin Brockovich the movie has a very different ending than the actual civil action under tort law brought against California's Pacific Gas and Electric Co. The Hollywood ending would have been preferable, however life is just not that simple and a tort law case against such a company is really a long, tiring legal battle. The 1993 legal dispute from Hinkley was resolved by arbitrage and at first the damages amounted to $400 million. However, after a few of the victims got compensated the company reconsidered and the case was settled in 1996 for $333 million. Although, there are now many other environmental problems with the company it continues to exist and flourish proving that money always wins.

References

Los Alamos National Library, the Karen Silkwood Story, Nuclear Reaction, Frontline, 23 November 1995, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/reaction/interact/silkwood.html

Chase, Anthony, the Cinema of Tort Liability, Movies on Trial, the New York Press, New...
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