On November 20th, I wrote about the tragic, and appalling, tale of Deborah Shank -- a Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) worker rendered severely brain damaged after a crash with a truck.
Her insurance, provided by Wal-Mart, paid for her medical needs, and Ms. Shank and her husband received $700 thousand in a settlement from the trucking company that crashed into her. Then Wal-Mart, a $190 billion company, sued for the money to recoup the amount it spent on her medical care.
The legality of the move aside, it's appalling on a moral level. WalMartWatch has more information available, and is also collecting donations to aid the family. That site sums it up well:
This holiday season, Wal-Mart rolled out a new slogan: "Save money. Live better."
But who lives better with Wal-Mart's low prices? Clearly, it isn't Wal-Mart employees like Deborah Shank.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
12-01-2007 @ 5:25PM
d said...
LOL FIGURES,, I KNEW THAT ANY COMPANY THAT COMES OUT OF ARKANSAS AND OR OHIO, HAD TO BE WORTHLESS,, IM SELLING OFF ALL MY STOCK, AND IM REFUSING TO SHOP THERE ANY LONGER,,,
12-02-2007 @ 1:51AM
S. Howlett said...
Arkansas has nothing to do with where Wal-Mart originated from, it has everything to do with the death of Sam Walton, every since that day Wal- Mart has gone to hell in a handbag
12-01-2007 @ 9:32PM
thoughtful said...
I believe the people who manage Wal-Mart now are from Boston, just thought you should know.
12-02-2007 @ 10:17AM
SenseOfReason said...
What's wrong with America is NOT Wal-Mart. Their action in this case is no different than any other company would take.
It's the sentiment that most of you are portraying is despicable. The accident was a terrible thing and I definitely feel for the injured woman and hope that she is able to be comfortable for the rest of her life. But why should she get a windfall gain from the accident? The $700K payment specifically included the medical costs AND her ongoing treatment costs AND money for family support to replace her lost income AND money for pain and suffering. If Ms Shank didn't expect to pay that medical cost reimbursement money over to the reimburse the insurance company, she had no right to sue the trucker for it and obviously the judgement would have been much lower.
Her refusal to reimburse Wal-Mart's insurance fund was equivalent to stealing. From who? From the other Wal-Mart employees.
You people who claim that Wal-Mart doesn't provide fair pay and benefits can't have it both ways. If Wal-Mart's medical expenses are higher, then the premiums paid by the Wal-Mart employees will be higher. Why should they all suffer because Ms Shank got a windfall?
Which by the way IS one of the biggest problems in this country. After an accident, it's very reasonable that the party causing the accident should pay for damages. But in so many cases the legal system allows this to be better than winning the lottery for the "victim". Assuming that future care and child support costs are covered, why should there be a payment to relatives after someone's injury or death in a car accident? How does the money help in any way?
12-14-2007 @ 11:54PM
lola said...
injured in an accident, win a settlement, pay the piper. The only reason this story is a story is because the nane Walmart was involved.
Car accident, at fault drivers insurance pays the freight. Used all that up, regular health insurance pays up front but is also up front in the settlement line when the big one is delivered. That's life!!
12-01-2007 @ 5:34PM
P said...
I can't believe a big company like Walmart would do such a thing! How dare they! I hope whoever decided to do this to that poor family gets paid back 10 fold cause I know whatever you do in life comes back to kick you in the butt, good or bad!
I'd like to know if anything's being done to keep this from happening to others? What about that "loophole"? Is anyone doing anything about getting rid of that loophole? Why not put the person that started the lawsuit in it and cover him/her up?
12-01-2007 @ 6:18PM
mrplmber said...
Walmart - Definetly the definition you would find under present day Scrooge
12-01-2007 @ 6:19PM
john rickman said...
THIS ONLY SHOWS THE AMERICAN WORKING CLASS PEOPLE WHAT CORPORATE AMERICA THINKS ABOUT THE. THIS ADMINISTRATION WE HAVE NOW IN THE WHITEHOUSE HAS DONE JUST THAT,BOWED DOWN TO THEIR CRONIES CORPORATE AMERICA,AND IN TURN OUR JOBS HAVE BEEN SOLD OUT TO CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIED FOR SLAVE LABOR. WE'RE THE ONES THAT'S BEING HIT HARD AND SUFFERING BECAUSE OF THIS ADMINISTRATION AND CORPORATE AMERICA. LOOK AT ALL THE HOME FORCLOSURES HAPPENING DUE TO JOB LOSS. PEOPLE ARE HAVING TO SPEND THEIR LIFE SAVINGS,CHILDRENS COLLEGE SAVINGS JUST TO SURVIVE ANF THIS CUTS THE DREAMS OF OUR CHILDREN GOING TO COLLEGE AND A BETTER LIFE FOR THEM.
12-01-2007 @ 6:22PM
Politically INCORRECT said...
I'm not all all surprised by Walmart's treatment of this employee. I have a co-worker who once worked for Walmart in management. His job was to find reasons to get rid of anyone who made more than $7.00 per hour. Also, Walmart has sold out to the Chinese. Nearly everything sold in Walmart comes from China. About 32% of ALL imports from China are brought in by Walmart alone. Now that the Chinese are booming economically (thanks largely to Walmart),they are buying the oil that we used to get. As a result, the supply is limited to us so we now pay $3.00 a gallon or more for it. Thanks Walmart, and everybody else that pushes cheap Chinese crap and drains our economy. I haven't shopped there in a few years and have no intention of ever going back. Buy American...the job you save may be your own.
12-04-2007 @ 9:31AM
Gary said...
I believe this when I worked there I was fired for harrassment. I called another asociate by his nickname.
12-01-2007 @ 6:29PM
Politically INCORRECT said...
I'm not at all surprised by this. I have a co-worker who used to work for Walmart in management. His sole job was to find reasons to get rid of anyone who made more than $7.00 per hour. Also, Walmart has sold out to the Chinese. Nearly 32% of ALL imports from China are brought into the US by Walmart alone. Now that the Chinese are booming economically (thanks largely to Walmart), they are buying up the oil that we used to get. The tankers that used to fill up and come here now fill up and go to China. The result is $3.00 or more for a gallon of gas here. I haven't shopped at Walmart in several years and have no intention of ever going back. Buy American...the job you save may be your own.
12-01-2007 @ 6:45PM
Brockage said...
Don't get your panties in a bunch over this; it will settle. The critical term here is the "law" -- not niceness or soft-heartedness -- BOTH sides have a fiduciary responsibility to pursue the legal issue -- that's all that's happening. It tells you nothing about the merits or the litigants; it tells you only how the law has to work.
12-01-2007 @ 6:49PM
cheryl said...
that is sickening for that family.i used to work for walmart,opened a new store and believe me their store planners,people who made aliving at doing this,were worthless,for 2 weeks we moved things from point a to b then back to a and then maybe c....i gave them a better plan and i am no planner but was told by my manager ,i need to do things the way i am told and i told her,the planners ways do not make sense and r worthless...also i got hurt there and had experiance in retail,so when the store opened i told on a asst maager and was canned for it,i have filed a labor issue suit and a workers comp as well...screw walmart,i do not even shop there......
12-01-2007 @ 6:52PM
Jessica said...
Ah, yes, the good old-fashioned Wal-Mart way. I was fired for being pregnant by this discriminating company (unfortunately, I live in an at-will state, meaning they can fire anyone they want to and not give a reason for it) . This company just SUCKS majorly. Target is much nicer, anyway.
12-01-2007 @ 7:14PM
Erik said...
I love how they "misstakenly" spelled her name SKANK in the article! LOL!!!
12-01-2007 @ 7:31PM
Robert said...
If she had been insured by a health insurance company they would do exactly the same thing as Walmart. They are self insured but still act llike an insurance company in handling claims. I'm no fan of WM but this isn't the issue to get hot and bothered about.
12-01-2007 @ 7:37PM
JEB said...
THATS TOTAL SCUM EVERYBODY SHOULD BOYCOTT WALMART PERMANENTLY
12-01-2007 @ 7:38PM
hannah said...
Maybe Walmartfoundation.org, believing in and supporting children, should donate to help these children who have lost a mother. The insurance policy clause was "legal" and "unfortunate". Having been in business, I understand duties owed to shareholders, however, legally they can find a creative way to give it back.
12-01-2007 @ 8:03PM
Tom Tom said...
The American Free Enterprize System is the most exploitive system known. For all its great achievements sometimes its downright shamefull for some of the things they do against the very people that put them where they are.
How about some Humanitarian Democracy.
12-01-2007 @ 8:14PM
Judy said...
Walmart doesn't care about anyone but the almighty dollar. There was a candle that fell off a shelf and hit my elderly mother in the face and head. And walmart wouldn't even pay her medical expense for that. They said she probably did it on perpose. Who would want to hurt themselves like that, specially and older person. I think it is time that the AMERICAN people started shopping somewhere else, and ask that company to sell as much American made as possible to help our economy.