Walmart Sues Brain Damaged Woman (CNN)
JACKSON, Missouri (CNN) — Debbie Shank breaks down in tears every time she’s told that her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, was killed in Iraq.
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. [...]
[My Commentary]
To me, this is outrageous! What do you think?
April 3, 2008 update.
I really wonder how this plan is beneficial…at all.
Yes, this story is sad. That’s the way insurance usually works, though. And if Wal-Mart decided to make her an exception, imagine how many other people would be knocking on their door demanding money. Don’t get me wrong, Wal-Mart has done a lot of shady stuff. They’re a corporation though, and a corporation’s only responsibility is generating profits for the shareholders. We shouldn’t look to them as a moral example.
The real issue here is how devastating traumatic brain injuries are to victims and their families. There are 5.4 million people in the US living with the permanent effects of TBI, and 1.5 million new injuries per year! Most of these people weren’t even fortunate enough to get the $1 million settlement that Debbie Shank got.
I say there needs to be more focus on the victims and what we can do to improve their treatments. For the latest news related to TBI, come join the conversation on my blog.
–Jason
This story is terribly sad.
I’m more angry at the Federal Government/ Medicaid than I am at Wal-Mart. Mr. Shank, who is honoring his marriage vows, divorced his wife so she could get more from Medicaid. Did you notice that? DOH!
I’m none too happy with Wal-Mart, either.
We have created our own little tribute to Wal-evil on this subject.
http://hotlard.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/wal-mart-is-evil/
Jason,
You are right that corporations may not should be moral examples but they are headed by individuals who should have moral standards.
Rev.,
I do find it insane how our government punishes marriage.
I agree with Jason on this one. This is an extreamly sad story. My heart goes out to this woman, her husband and her family. But, as has already been posted, most insurance policies work this way. What would have been better, in my opinion would have been for the trucking company responsible for the accident to have to fork over the money for the loses incurred by ALL involved. This would in turn include Wal – Mart…but I’m neither a lawyer, nor an insurance agent.
Erica
Quinn,
I KNOW!! Wasn’t that horrible?!! You know it is the same way when an “intact” family falls on hard times and tries to get assistance in some states. A friend told me that the Case worker told her “if your husband walked out on you, you would have a better chance at getting this assistance.”
I thought it was a joke. But I guess thats the way things are.
Quinn I read today where they have dropped the suit.
It is truly a sad story, but Newsome is precisely correct; it’s the way insurance works. Wal-Mart’s health plan covered the loss, they received compensation for the loss from the trucking company, so the health plan was entitled to reimbursement. What has happened with the suit being dropped amounts to extortion by this family: “If you don’t do what we want, we’ll smear you in the media.”
Again, it’s a sad story, with no real winners. But the truth in this case doesn’t lend itself to sound-byte journalism.
And as to Wal-Mart being an evil corporation, they are the eighth largest charitable giver on the planet, and if you combine what Wal-Mart has given to charity with what the Walton family has done privately, it puts them second only to Bill and Melinda Gates. May God curse us with many more such evil corporations…