Is Wal-Mart Evil or Just Following the Rules?

[IWS]

Just in case you haven't heard of this yet...

 

Brain-damaged woman at center of Wal-Mart suitJACKSON, Missouri (CNN) -- Debbie Shank breaks down in tears every time she's told that her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq.

 

Debbie Shank, 52, has severe brain damage after a traffic accident in May 2000.

 

The 52-year-old mother of three attended her son's funeral, but she continues to ask how he's doing. When her family reminds her that he's dead, she weeps as if hearing the news for the first time.

 

Shank suffered severe brain damage after a traffic accident nearly eight years ago that robbed her of much of her short-term memory and left her in a wheelchair and living in a nursing home.

 

It was the beginning of a series of battles -- both personal and legal -- that loomed for Shank and her family. One of their biggest was with Wal-Mart's health plan.

 

Eight years ago, Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart's health and benefits plan.

 

Two years after the accident, Shank and her husband, Jim, were awarded about $1 million in a lawsuit against the trucking company involved in the crash. After legal fees were paid, $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie Shank's long-term care.

 

Wal-Mart had paid out about $470,000 for Shank's medical expenses and later sued for the same amount. However, the court ruled it can only recoup what is left in the family's trust.

 

The Shanks didn't notice in the fine print of Wal-Mart's health plan policy that the company has the right to recoup medical expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit.

Brain-damaged woman at center of Wal-Mart suit - CNN.com

[snafu]

~Wouldn't it be nice if we were older

 

Then we wouldn't have to wait so long

 

And wouldn't it be nice to live together

 

In the kind of world where we belong~ hummm..... :rolleyes:

 

[hugo]

I would say Wal-Mart should be entitled to recieve payment for any medical expenses they paid for that the jury found the other company liable for. If I was a family member I would just tell her the kid is vacationing in Hawaii.

 

Who we should be bitching about is the lawyers who it appears took 58.3% of the settlement.

[snafu]

Come on my little diddy was funny. Didn't anybody else see the movie First 50 Dates? :P

[hugo]

The correct answer is Wal-Mart did what it is suppossed to do for it's shareholders.

[wez]

The correct answer is Wal-Mart did what it is suppossed to do for it's shareholders.

SS men did what they were suppose to do for Hitler. :D