Wal-Mart Saves Money November 27, 2007
Posted by voolavex in Deborah Shank, despicable, health care, Wal-Mart.Tags: Deborah Shank, despicable, health care, Wal-Mart
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This is the full text of an email sent to me by Wal-mart Watch. This is a disgusting story of greed and immorality. It asks you to donate – but I am not asking that of you – I ask only that you to write to Wal-Mart, email Wal-Mart, call Wal-Mart and otherwise bombard Wal-Mart asking them why this is happening? I could list other companies that are just as guilty – but clouding the issue is not constructive. Go to the website if you want to donate – but I am NOT asking you to do that. Send your message of disgust to Wal-Mart.com. Their slogan: “Live Better. Save Money”. Bullshit
Scroll down for the story.
Seven years ago, a semi-trailer plowed into the driver’s side of Deborah Shank’s minivan.The 52-year-old Missouri Wal-Mart employee and devoted mother of three suffered permanent brain damage. Today she lives in a nursing home for round-the clock care, unable to walk, feed or dress herself.As the Wall Street Journal reported on November 20, it’s a tragic story – but it gets worse:
“Wal-Mart started out as one of the good guys in this story, paying almost $470,000 of Shank’s initial medical bills. But three years after Shank’s husband sued and settled with the semi driver’s employer, the retail giant changed hats. It demanded every penny back, plus interest and legal fees — more, in fact, than the $417,477 the settlement had placed in a special trust fund specifically for Shank’s future health care expenses.”Wal-Mart sued a permanently brain-damaged woman out of her medical care funds. Thanks to her former employer – the world’s largest retailer – Deborah’s family is sinking deeper into debt and Deborah will be completely dependent on Medicaid and Social Security for a lifetime of medical care.Wal-Mart Watch is collecting funds to help Deborah Shank’s family with her medical bills. Will you make a donation?
http://action.walmartwatch.com/deborahshank
Wal-Mart’s actions are horribly unethical and morally bankrupt, but the company says it’s legal – and it’s right about that.As the Wall Street Journal explains:The reason is a clause in Wal-Mart’s health plan that Mrs. Shank didn’t notice when she started stocking shelves at a nearby store eight years ago. Like most company health plans, Wal-Mart’s reserves the right to recoup the medical expenses it paid for someone’s treatment if the person also collects damages in an injury suit.
In cases like the Shanks’, where injuries and medical costs are catastrophic, accident victims sometimes can be left with little or none of the money they fight for in court. Company health plans are increasingly adopting language such as Wal-Mart’s, which dictates that it is to be paid first out of any settlement, regardless of what remains for the injured person. Moreover, the victim is responsible for all legal costs in pursuing the suit.
Last year the U.S. District Court sided with Wal-Mart over the Shank family – making its ruling just six days before Deborah Shank’s 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed while serving in Iraq.
The decision has forced Deborah’s family to take drastic measures. Earlier this year, her husband divorced her because of advice from a health care administrator, who said that she would qualify for more public assistance as a single woman.
The Shanks aren’t gold-diggers. They are an honest, hard-working American family trying to deal with a catastrophic event, and now they’re doing it with an empty wallet – thanks to Wal-Mart.
Please do your part to help the Shank family by making a donation now:
http://action.walmartwatch.com/deborahshank
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.Sincerely,
David Nassar
Wal-Mart Watch
Paid for by WalmartWatch.com, a campaign of Five Stones and The Center for Community and Corporate Ethics
To unsubscribe: http://action.walmartwatch.com/unsubscribe
Voolavex 
maybe my comment will sound like a dissonance, but…
Wal-Mart has already picked up almost full cost of the care for Deborah.
Then, her family successfully sued the party who actually caused the incident; so now the family has received about the same amount as was the treatment cost; only it was not the family who paid that cost – it was Wal-Mart. So, I’d think that if the received money was the compensation for the medical costs, then it should go to the one who paid those costs – which was WM.
At which point, I’d speculate, WM has asked the family to compensate – nobody would sue right away. And, I’d further speculate, the family refused because they wanted to keep the money. After which WM sued and won.
So, if the above is right, this is indeed a story about greed – only greed not WM’s.
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To Mr. Speculater,
I would speculate that you have not thought about what the cost would be for the rest of that families life. Children to take care of, one less adult in the house providing for three children. I would also speculate that you have not thought about the life long care that this women is going to need and I would further speculate that you hadn’t thought of the cost of this care. WM may have paid a great deal of her medical expences, but who is still paying for her care? Her family, thats who and what ever assistance she recieves from medicare or social security. Of course they wanted to keep the money. Do you honestly think that it was because they are greedy or maybe do you think that they might have been speculating about the future cost of her care and the astronomical cost of raising children in a single parent family. A multi-billion $ company needs that money paid back to them. That my friend is what is wrong with the world today; people don’t care about people any more, they care about money and WM is just to hungry to care.
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Was WalMart forced to Subrogate by the insurance companies? Our country’s insurance issues are so tragic – I wish I knew just how many Americans have had to file bankruptcy due to medical bills
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let’s all have a giant puke-in at walmart. everyone should to in and vomit on the floors
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