Wal-Mart wins $$ from lawsuit against disabled ex-employee

[IDrinkaRum]

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/wal-mar...00010000000001

Debbie Shanks was in an accident caused by a truck. Has brain damage and is in a nursing home. Had worked at Wal-Mart, got insurance through them. Family won lawsuit against the trucking company after paying bills, etc., put rest in trust for wife.

Wal-Mart had paid out $470,000 for insurance payments and whatnot. Sued family for the money back (it's in fine print in their paperwork that if you win a lawsuit, Wal-Mart recoups their $$ from you).

Husband recovering from prostate cancer, working 2 jobs, youngest son was looking towards college & oldest son killed in Iraq.

What do ya'll think?

[Amethyst Hunter]

Tangible proof of the existence of True Pure Evil.

[Saydrah]

"Jim Shank, 54, is recovering from prostate cancer, works two jobs and struggles to pay the bills. "Who needs the money more? A disabled lady in a wheelchair with no future whatsoever, or does Wal-Mart need $90 billion, plus $200,000?" he asked."

I think that her husband should stop claiming a woman who understands enough to remember her son and ask after him has no future whatsoever. TBI is NOT a death sentence, NOR worse than death. She has no future as an able bodied person, but she has a future as the disabled woman with TBI that she is.

However, WalMart has rarely (but not never) disgusted me more than at this moment.

[IDrinkaRum]

This article seriously makes me just want to start shopping at Target and K-Mart more exclusively than ever. (Did that sentence make sense?) I just don't know - now I get the "oogies" just thinking about going to Wal-Mart.

[Greenday]

K-Mart and Target have done the same types of things in the past, but since Wally World is so much bigger these days, it gets all the publicity.

[powerboy]

I am glad that I do not work Walmart anymore. They are the greediest $#%&*, I tell you.

[IDrinkaRum]

Greenday - I'd shop at smaller shops (like my Gaming Store owned by a local family), but there aren't too many of those where I live in Northern Virginia. Since we're so near D.C., a lot of big name corps want to be here and get their product out. *le sigh* Though, I do live close to Occoquan, but they don't have general stores where I can buy the stuff I can get at Wal-Mart/Target/K-Mart.

[ArenaBoy]

And my friend keeps asking me why I insist on her getting out of Wal-mart.

[LadyBarbossa]

What do ya'll think?

I think I'd really hate to be all the greedy execs and bigwigs of Wal Mart on the day that Karma bites them in the ass.

[Seshat]

It is standard (at least here) that you don't get a double payment for anything that you can claim on insurance. Either you get the insurance, or you get compensation from somewhere else.

According to the article, the family lawyer said that 'he expected' that after three years, Walmart wasn't going to want the money back. He gave bad advice. He knew (or should have known) that the clause was in the contract. And he should have gotten it in writing from Walmart that they wouldn't claim the money back: or advised the family to expect to be asked to repay it.

All that said, Walmart is morally wrong in this instance. Legally right, but morally - would it do them any harm to say 'keep the money, we'll write it off as a PR expense'?

[IDrinkaRum]

Update

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/wal-mar...02064509990001

They've dropped the suit.

[ShockQueen]

That is definitely good news to hear! Kinda restores a bit of faith in them.

[Boozy]

That is definitely good news to hear! Kinda restores a bit of faith in them.

Put your faith into someone who deserves it.

Walmart was getting slaughtered in the press. They were forced to drop the suit.