Comments on Crazy Days and Nights: Kindness Plug

Layla, I've worked with criminal and estates attor...

2008-03-30T09:56:00.000-07:00

Layla, I've worked with criminal and estates attorneys who wouldn't know a subrogate from a groundhog.

Not all lawyers are equal.

And concerning this case, the woman doesn't have the funds to maintain her constant need for care. Walmart is trying to sue for what little means she has, in effect, denying her the insurance she PAID for while an employee.

Legal? yes. Ethical? Hell no.

Lissa - My first thought too when I read this was ...

2008-03-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

Lissa - My first thought too when I read this was that there was no way Ent is a lawyer. I just went though a settlement myself for a car accident. My lawyer made sure to verify that my insurance company could legally subrogate (not all companies can) and knew the amount they were asking for prior to going into the settlement negotiations. This way the other party could take into account how much of the settlement was going to the insurance company and (in theory) adjust the amount awarded to compensate.

Wal-Mart - I'd rather take a beating then shop the...

2008-03-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Wal-Mart - I'd rather take a beating then shop there. The whole company sucks rhino dick.

Wal-Mart is evil. I refuse to shop there. I'd rath...

2008-03-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Wal-Mart is evil. I refuse to shop there. I'd rather pay more to shop elsewhere.

"While the Shank case involves a tragic situation,...

2008-03-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

"While the Shank case involves a tragic situation, the reality is that the health plan is required to protect its assets so that it can pay the future claims of other associates and their family members."

The "health" plan is being used to make profits for Walmart, which is not supposed to be the intention of real health plans.

Walmart, with it's heavy influence of Fundie Xtians and Mormons, is completely unethical. It pretends to insure it's employees when it's using employee's personal funds as their own capital.

Shop at Kmart. The Kresge Foundation has a looooong history of both private and public charities it contributes to - while Walmart's leaders build more mega-churches and think themselves saved.

I think that you are all missing one aspect of thi...

2008-03-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

I think that you are all missing one aspect of this story. If you have a health plan that forces you to pay back any insurance monies received, why would you even bother putting yourself through the hassle of a court case? Might as well let Walmart's lawyers go through all the trouble, if they are just going to wind up with the money in the end anyway. If you're lucky, there might be a few shekels left over for you, as I'm sure that Walmart's lawyers are all first rate.

There is a real inequity here, in that the insurance fund pays for some people's treatment without recompense but not others. Recapping the above question, why not just let Walmart pay, first the medical bills then the legal fees to recoup any "investment" in your care? If you're not going to see any cash, why would you bother helping Walmart.

I will truly never set foot inside a Walmart again.

Lissa, so you believe what "every single lawyer" t...

2008-03-27T05:01:00.000-07:00

Lissa, so you believe what "every single lawyer" tells you.

You don't know as much as you proclaim. You also don't know the details of how the billing and charges of the medical procedures and trial and other details to determine anything about this story.

((((( Walmart is f'd up, but I don't shop there anyways. I have before though. I regret not acting sooner when I heard about the Aquadots recall.

Was anyone able to purchase Aquadots last year after learning they were contaminated with GHB? )))))

I can't believe you're a lawyer based on this stor...

2008-03-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe you're a lawyer based on this story. I was injured severely and have been told by every single lawyer that regardless of the amount of any award I get, the insurance companies who paid my medical bills get reimbursed before I get a penny. That's the way it works, and for anybody to think this story is unfair has no idea how these situations work. This is life in the US for anybody injured and seeking an award. My own story is actually even worse than theirs, because I didn't have the fortune of being able to get money from somebody with such deep pockets. They should be happy with their $400,000 cuz that's a lot more than most people will see in settlements where lawyers and insurance companies are involved. Give me a break. Sob story? Hardly. Legally wrong? Nope.

First off the Global Ethics person who said they'r...

2008-03-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

First off the Global Ethics person who said they're "only" asking for $280,000 is sorta kinda lying. The courts ruled that Wal*Mart may only try and go after what money the family has left ($280,000) as opposed to pursuing the entire $470,000 amount.

Second:

THIS is what I REALLY think is unethical and slimy....Wal*Mart's insurance participation stipulations.

It's called "subrogation" (I think...)Basically, it keeps the family from what Wal-Mart thinks is "double-dipping" in this case, getting money from insurance and getting money from Wal-mart. I think the family's attorney really screwed up by not reading the fine print in the contract, but why on EARTH would Wal-Mart want this publicity NIGHTMARE on their hands??? Jeez, the Husband is a recovering cancer patient, the wife is impaired for life, and Wal-Mart?

Well, don't like, 10 or 12 of the world's richest people sit on their board of directors? It's disgusting. And people aren't stupid. There will one day be a straw which breaks the proverbial camel's back and I feel there will be a full-on revolution. 1770's style! Damn, man! This is a little too much! It's like this company is saying to America, with it's Corporate Middle Finger fully extended:

"Yeah, we're a-holes, huh? Suck it. You'll shop here anyway, because you're all inveterate bargain hunters, and we'll KEEP you shopping here by making gas $5 a gallon, hell where else can you afford to shop"

It really sickens me.

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2008-03-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

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There is another great article regarding this case...

2008-03-26T20:36:00.000-07:00

There is another great article regarding this case at the Wall Street Journal site.

In reading it, I found that the settlement was for much less than a million dollars. The settlement reached with the trucking company was for $700,000, with the family getting the bulk of the settlement ($417,000).

The legal fees I was upset about earler were based on the payout being much closer to a million dollars.

The corrected information I got here:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119551952474798582.html

We moved to this country for more than trhree year...

2008-03-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

We moved to this country for more than trhree years ago, and used to shop at Wal-Mart. (Wow! Everything is $1!) After listening to some of the check-out persons' stories, and seeing the documentary "The High Cost of Low Price" we were left with a bad taste in our mouths. We will NEVER go back, and tell everyone we know that we don't support this terror regime.

Thank you for writing about this, Ent!

Also, if Bank of America is starting a fund in her...

2008-03-26T19:10:00.000-07:00

Also, if Bank of America is starting a fund in her name, someone had better make damn sure that Wal-Mart cannot get their full $470,000 out of that fund. Make sure it can only go to the family for living and medical expenses. I want to make sure my money will go to help this family, not to Wal-Mart because someone in Bank of America didn't foresee the legalities.

We don't do Wal-Mart and never will. Just because...

2008-03-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

We don't do Wal-Mart and never will. Just because they had the right to recoup the $ doesn't mean that they had to exercise that right. It was discretionary. They're scum.

Thank you for posting this story. Everyone needs ...

2008-03-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you for posting this story. Everyone needs to know about this. I just saw this on Keith Olberman.

My ex-BF's father was a supplier to Wal-Mart. When they had to send a fax to him, they sent it collect. That's right. His secretary had to accept the collect call and then transfer it to the fax machine.

The Court ruled that the benefit plan was entitled...

2008-03-26T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Court ruled that the benefit plan was entitled to the funds in the trust account, which was about $280,000, which is all it requested.

Regards,
Global Ethics Office

So they "only" asked for every penny she had left to her name? Yeah that makes it better.

Did the Global Ethics office mention how this woma...

2008-03-26T16:50:00.000-07:00

Did the Global Ethics office mention how this woman is supposed to support herself for the rest of her life? Goddamn assholes!

I have not shopped at Wal-Mart for about a year. I...

2008-03-26T15:03:00.000-07:00

I have not shopped at Wal-Mart for about a year. I do not miss it in any way, shape or form.

This is disgusting and horrific. Sadly, there are many companies that treat their employees like lab rats worth about 25 cents.

I worked HR at a company with almost 500 employees and I mentioned that we needed to make sure we followed proper labor laws including overtime, breaks and lunch schedules. The CEO told me essentially to shut up and that what the employees don't know is the company's gain. I also fought for decent health care coverage, however, the employees had to pay for the majority of the coverage--while the company's executive staff had more than enough extra $$$$$. Also, this company had problems with making payroll a couple of times... Something needs to be done.

yet another reason why I refuse to shop there. eve...

2008-03-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

yet another reason why I refuse to shop there. every few years it seems an article like this comes out. some employee get sick/injured/etc. and WalMart gives them the shaft. about 5 or 6 years ago they went on a whole PR defense by airing commercials about how they've helped employees w/ sick kids. utter bullshit.

the only thing they care about is money. they don't care about how and why they get their stock for so cheap, and they sure as fuck don't care about their employees or the communities where they have stores.

Again, I HATE WALMART!!!! I stopped shopping there...

2008-03-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

Again, I HATE WALMART!!!! I stopped shopping there 10 years ago, when will the rest of america join me????

Go on with their lives, that's rich. Well, I've on...

2008-03-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

Go on with their lives, that's rich.

Well, I've only been in a Wal Mart once and hadn't planned to go back but anyone who considers themselves human beings should boycott that store, even if it hurts for a while. What a horrible company. NEVER will they get one dime of my money.

GO Lyz!

2008-03-26T13:53:00.000-07:00

GO Lyz!

Here's my response to their e-mail:Keep your canne...

2008-03-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

Here's my response to their e-mail:

Keep your canned e-mail and keep your stock on your shelves. Has Walmart made a donation in the amount of $200,000+ to the Shank family? No, I'm sure not. What is $200,000 to Walmart? It's not even lunch money.

Again, Walmart's greed disgusts me. Don't blame your "plan". Make a LARGE donation to the family.

I read this article on Perez Hilton this morning a...

2008-03-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

I read this article on Perez Hilton this morning and it made me sick! I haven't shopped at Wal*Mart for years b/c I can't stand the store and their business practices, but this seals it for me.

Is there a fund ppl can donate money? I'm sorry if miss that in the article?

I'm actually pretty impressed with the comments po...

2008-03-26T13:41:00.000-07:00

I'm actually pretty impressed with the comments posted here. I have always hated Wal-mart, and everything it stands for.

A few years ago, I read about a man who worked as a manager for this particular retailer. He was working something like 80 hours a week during peak season, and when he said he didn't think he couldn't physically handle it anymore, they told him it was non-negotiable, essentially putting his job on the line. He ended up having a fatal heart attack as a result. The kicker here is that Wal-Mart supposedly takes out insurance on their full-time staff, and in this case the money they received for his death was used to train someone to replace him. In short, they pushed him to his death, and used the insurance money to line up another duck. Classy. I actually mentioned this to one of their recruiters who was trying to get me to consider working there. She went quiet and thanked me for my time.

I refuse to shop there, for this reason and for the fact that 90% or more of the merchandise they sell is manufactured in China, thus rendering it garbage. I also don't do 'Dollar' stores, because it makes no sense to buy something that is harmful or defective, supporting another country's economy while your own is going down in flames.

Spend the extra money and buy from reputable companies with quality product. In the long run, the extra money spent makes a hell of a lot more sense.