You may have read about Wal-Mart's suit against Debbie Shank, its former employee who was brain damaged in a car accident and is now in a nursing home. It's horrible; read the details below. But there has been such a tremendous backlash as a result of publicity against the company (articles on CNN and MSNBC, online petitions from consumers to boycott the company, the worst possible press) that they have now decided not to take money from this brain-damaged woman and her husband with cancer who works 2 jobs to support them. The couple also lost their son in Iraq, by the way, and since Debbie Shank has short-term memory loss, every time she learns of the death of her son, it is like hearing it for the first time and she grieves anew. That is who Wal-Mart was suing.
Even though they have dropped the lawsuit, still don't shop at Wal-Mart, please. To have put this family through such hell, they cannot have any kind of conscience or compassion at all. I'm embarrassed to say I used to buy my formula and diapers there. My kids are in middle school now, but I'm embarrassed to have ever patronized these bastards.
Read some of their bad press below. Trust me, had it not been for articles like this, Wal-Mart would still be suing Debbie Shank and her husband.
Wal-Mart Dubbed "Worst Person in the World" on MSNBC's Countdown
By WalmartWatch.com
Last night, MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann dubbed Wal-Mart the "Worst Person in the World" for suing severely brain-damaged Wal-Mart employee, Debbie Shank, for $470,000.
According to Olbermann, "...You know why people think of Wal-Mart and evil in the same sentence? Because of the crap you guys do like this...Wal-Mart: may your stores melt in the hot sun. Today's worst person in the world."
When Missouri Wal-Mart employee Debbie Shank was left severely brain-damaged and disabled after a collision with a semi-trailer truck seven years ago, her Wal-Mart health care plan paid her initial medical bills. The Shank family won a $417,000 settlement (after legal fees) from the trucking company, which was placed in a trust fund for Debbie's future medical care.
Wal-Mart subsequently sued the family for $470,000 - for medical expense reimbursement, plus interest and legal fees - and won. The Shanks appealed, but last week, the Supreme Court refused to hear their case so the Shank family must pay Wal-Mart.
Debbie lives in a nursing home, is disabled, memory-impaired and requires 24-hour care. Her husband, Jim Shank, works two jobs and doesn't know how he will pay for Debbie's future nursing home expenses. Shank spoke about the family's tragedy and Wal-Mart's heartlessness toward his family on CNN Headline News yesterday and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 last night.
"Despite its public relations efforts to improve its image, this tragic situation exposes the truth about how poorly Wal-Mart treats its employees," said David Nassar, Wal-Mart Watch Executive Director. "Wal-Mart claims it must recover the money from the Shank family in 'fairness' and to 'protect' the plan, but those claims are absurd because Wal-Mart self-funds its health care plan. Wal-Mart can and should do the right thing and let the family keep this money to take care of Debbie Shank."
Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott earns more than $470,000 a week and Wal-Mart earns $470,000 every 38 seconds. Surely the largest company in the world, with $11 billion in profits and run by the nation's wealthiest family, could spare the $470,000, do the right thing and give this poor family a break.
In December, Wal-Mart Watch conducted a fundraiser and in conjunction with SEIU contributed $15,000 to the Shank family. In addition, the organization appealed to the Wal-Mart's Associates in Critical Need Foundation, the Wal-Mart Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation to assist the Shank family, but received no reply to its requests. Wal-Mart Watch is currently circulating a petition to the company.
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