Book Review

two recent books document failed personal injury or tort litigation US style and the procedure underlying the pursuit of law cases. A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr Random House, New York, 1995 Wrongful Death: a medical tragedy by Sandra M Gilbert W W Norton & Coy, New York, 1995 • • • [1] Both of these books relate to the aftermath of wrongful deaths leading to civil litigation that was less than satisfactorily resolved to the plaintiffs. The first is a wellresearched tale of “toxic tort” litigation with the protagonist being the plaintiffs’ lawyer and the second is the highly personal account of medical malpractice as seen by the widow of the deceased. [2] Harr’s prize-winning book has netted him a multi-million dollar contract from Robert Redford for the film rights. This reviewer believes it to be too complex a tale to be the subject of a two-hour screenplay and the recent twenty-hour Steven Bochco “maxi” series Murder One springs to mind as a suitable treatment for its dramatic portrayal as all but 40 of its 500 odd pages is devoted to the litigation. [3] Jan Schlichtmann is a young and successful personal injuries lawyer with little trial experience. His success has been the result of tenacious investigation and pretrial diligence. He has been lucky in picking up some “good” cases and his expensive presentations to the defendant’s insurers are powerful trial previews that persuade them in many cases to settle. When they don’t Schlichtmann is ready to proceed to trial with all the hubris of one who has yet to lose a case (and who has yet to try a case). In one case, upon the conclusion of the parties’ cases and prior to it going to trial, he rejects a $1 million settlement offer to the surprise of the judge and his fellow members of the personal injury bar. When the jury returns with a $4.7 million verdict his decision is vindicated but the reader is left in doubt that Schlichtmann is a person