OK, So I Lied

Yeah, I know, I said I was not going to blog anymore, at least until I found out what it was I had to say.

But I just couldn't resist this. While it is sad, I do have to say that we have done much of our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Not much choice, since it one of the best grocery stores in our sad little town. However, I will not set foot in Wal-Mart again. If you haven't already heard this, this is why.

Deborah Shank, a Wal-Mart employee gets into an accident with a semi and ends up permanently brain-damaged. Her Wal-Mart health insurance paid her medical bills, but she also sued the trucking company for damages. She wins $700,000, which after legal fees and expenses, nets her about $400,000, which was put in a trust to pay the nursing home where she now resides.


Wal-Mart gets wind of the settlement and turns around and sues Shank for $470,000, the money its insurance company paid for her care from the accident. Now, the woman is reliant on Medicaid and Social Security and Wal-Mart apparently got a much needed windfall.

Wal-Mart isn't alone in such behavior. Insurance companies seizing lawsuit winnings from catastrophically injured Americans is a common practice that gives lie to the notion that anyone gets rich off a personal injury lawsuit these days, as insurance companies often get first dibs on any judgment or settlement in such cases.

But Wal-Mart's cruelty, as always, is extreme in this case. Not only is Shenk profoundly disabled, but while her family was fighting off the company in court, her son was killed while fighting the war in Iraq and because of the damage she needs to be told each day that her son died in Iraq. Not even bad PR like this, apparently, can eke out a drop of compassion from the retail giant.


It is time to put an end to corporate greed such as this - both on the part of corporations such as Wal-Mart and the insurance industry. Neither of them deserve to be compensated above and beyond the exorbitant premiums we all pay.