Brain-damaged woman at center of Wal-Mart suit

[rpp]

CNN is reporting this too.

cnn.com/2008/US/law/04/02/walmart.decision/index.html

From the article.

“Occasionally, others help us step back and look at a situation in a different way. This is one of those times,” Wal-Mart Executive Vice President Pat Curran said in a letter. “We have all been moved by Ms. Shank’s extraordinary situation.”

{snip}

On Tuesday, Wal-Mart said in a letter to Jim Shank that it is modifying its health care plan to allow “more discretion” in individual cases.

“We wanted you to know that Wal-Mart will not seek any reimbursement for the money already spent on Ms. Shank’s care, and we will work with you to ensure the remaining amounts in the trust can be used for her ongoing care,” Curran said.

“We are sorry for any additional stress this uncertainty has placed on you and your family.”

The closing line is very interesting. Apparently Wal-Mart felt that they had done something which they needed to apologize for. I will give them credit for that act of mercy and humility.

 

[Spirithound]

Apparently Wal-Mart felt that they had done something which they needed to apologize for. I will give them credit for that act of mercy and humility.

I’m going to give you credit for that reading of charity
I’m a little more cynical about their reason for apologizing.

 

[vern_humphrey]

I’m going to give you credit for that reading of charity
I’m a little more cynical about their reason for apologizing.

Ah, the old, “They did the right thing, but for the wrong reason” ploy.

 

[LCMS_No_More]

CNN is reporting this too.

cnn.com/2008/US/law/04/02/walmart.decision/index.html

From the article.

The closing line is very interesting. Apparently Wal-Mart felt that they had done something which they needed to apologize for. I will give them credit for that act of mercy and humility.

I’m a bit cynical about their “apology.” I think it’s more of a PR move than anything else. They shouldn’t have gone after her in the first place. This would have avoided the problem.

 

[vern_humphrey]

I’m a bit cynical about their “apology.” I think it’s more of a PR move than anything else. They shouldn’t have gone after her in the first place. This would have avoided the problem.

Ah, the old, “They did the right thing, but for the wrong reason” ploy, second strike.

 

[distracted]

The reason i don’t shop @ Wally’s - unless they have something i can’t get elsewhere is :

They support China (as too many American stores do ) where there are numerous human rights violations, the worst of which is forced abortion.

I don’t know why the U.S. doesn’t tell China to take a hike, that we are not buying from them until they stop this… hit them in the pocketbook and maybe we could accomplish something.

We could write to our congressman (President?) & ask…

Wally’s also supports (from what i have heard) liberal causes in the U.S…

 

[LCMS_No_More]

The reason i don’t shop @ Wally’s - unless they have something i can’t get elsewhere is :

They support China (as too many American stores do ) where there are numerous human rights violations, the worst of which is forced abortion.

I don’t know why the U.S. doesn’t tell China to take a hike, that we are not buying from them until they stop this… hit them in the pocketbook and maybe we could accomplish something.

We could write to our congressman (President?) & ask…

China is financing our debt.

Wally’s also supports (from what i have heard) liberal causes in the U.S…

That’s why “liberals” tend to hate WalMart and it’s the “conservatives” who love WalMart.

 

[vern_humphrey]

**The reason i don’t shop @ Wally’s - unless they have something i can’t get elsewhere **is :

If you’re serious, don’t shop at Wal-Mart, regardless of whether you can get it elsewhere or not.

They support China (as too many American stores do ) where there are numerous human rights violations, the worst of which is forced abortion.

They don’t support China, they buy from China. They used to have a “made in USA” policy, but consumers demanded lower prices – including those who only shopped at Wal-Mart if they couldn’t “get (it) elsewehre.”

Don’t blame Wal-Mart – blame the consumer.

I don’t know why the U.S. doesn’t tell China to take a hike, that we are not buying from them until they stop this… hit them in the pocketbook and maybe we could accomplish something.

We could write to our congressman (President?) & ask…

How much more are you willing to pay for what you buy?

Wally’s also supports (from what i have heard) liberal causes in the U.S…

“From what I have heard.” Wal-Mart does not have such a policy. They have a decentralized charity policy – local store managers have authority to contribute a certain amount of money to causes in their local community – which makes for a varied charitable policy, depending on the local managers and communities.

They have contributed to the Democratic Party, however.

 

[mapleoak]

Ah, the old, “They did the right thing, but for the wrong reason” ploy.

Face it, Walmart is evil. No matter what they do is wrong.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Face it, Walmart is evil. No matter what they do is wrong.

Face it, those who hate will continue to hate, even when confronted with evidence that they are wrong in their claims. You cannot prove them wrong – but by trying, you can make them hate you.

 

[didymus]

It looks as if Wal-Mart is dropping any efforts to recover the money they paid for medical expenses.
deepbackground.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/01/848981.aspx

I don’t feel bad for Wal-Mart but I don’t like the idea that people or companies should be forced to drop a legal claim because they’ve been bashed in the media.

Maybe next time it won’t be Wal-Mart but Joe’s Hardware trying to recover a settlement from an employee – and he’ll really need it to keep insuring the rest of his employees. Will he be subjected to the same kind of campaign? Or will he be afraid to even try to collect?

 

[geezerbob]

I don’t feel bad for Wal-Mart but I don’t like the idea that people or companies should be forced to drop a legal claim because they’ve been bashed in the media.

Maybe next time it won’t be Wal-Mart but Joe’s Hardware trying to recover a settlement from an employee – and he’ll really need it to keep insuring the rest of his employees. Will he be subjected to the same kind of campaign? Or will he be afraid to even try to collect?

I think that was one reason for taking the lawsuit as high as they did. Legally, Wal-Mart was entitled to recover the funds and no legal precedent was set saying otherwise. Whether they dropped their recovery effort out of charity (even big corporations are run by people, some of whom actually have consciences) or because of the media attention is anybody’s guess.

 

[vern_humphrey]

I think that was one reason for taking the lawsuit as high as they did. Legally, Wal-Mart was entitled to recover the funds and no legal precedent was set saying otherwise. Whether they dropped their recovery effort out of charity (even big corporations are run by people, some of whom actually have consciences) or because of the media attention is anybody’s guess.

Indeed. Wal-Mart did us all a service here. While Wal-Mart can afford to absorb a loss like this, Joe’s Hardware and many another small business cannot. Had the principle of double-dipping been established here, there is no end to the damage it would have done small business.

Whether intentionally or not, Wal-Mart did exactly what they should have done – defending the legal principle, then extending charity to one in need.

The lawyer who initiated the plaintiff’s initial suit, however, should be disbarred.

 

[distracted]

If you’re serious, don’t shop at Wal-Mart, regardless of whether you can get it elsewhere or not.

Please don’t tell me where to shop/not shop. I have good reasons for buying the few items i buy @ Wal-M

They don’t support China, they buy from China.

There’s a difference?

They used to have a “made in USA” policy, but consumers demanded lower prices – including those who only shopped at Wal-Mart if they couldn’t “get (it) elsewehre.”

Maybe you shouldn’t ASSUMe things… I make big sacrifices to NOT shop @ Wal-M…

They have contributed to the Democratic Party, however.

**I rest my case!! …

 

[vern_humphrey]

Please don’t tell me where to shop/not shop. I have good reasons for buying the few items i buy @ Wal-M

But not good enough to make a personal sacrifice and not buy there at all?

There’s a difference?

Of course! I’m a member of a Catholic Charities Disaster Relief Team. I have a hat, shirt and vest identifying me as a member (to be worn when going into disaster areas.) They were made respectively in Viet Nam, Guatamala, and China.

Does Catholic Charities “support” China?

Maybe you shouldn’t ASSUMe things… I make big sacrifices to NOT shop @ Wal-M…

But not enough to not shop there at all.

I rest my case…

And the jury took about 20 seconds to find against you.

 

[distracted]

vern_humphrey:
I should have known not to respond to your post… it will never happen again.

 

[Spirithound]

Ah, the old, “They did the right thing, but for the wrong reason” ploy.

Oh, I don’t even give them that much credit. An apology is NOT a good and right thing to do unless it’s actually meant. Mama forcing an apology from big brother (while it may mollify li’l sis) dun mean nuttin’.

 

[vern_humphrey]

Oh, I don’t even give them that much credit. An apology is NOT a good and right thing to do unless it’s actually meant. Mama forcing an apology from big brother (while it may mollify li’l sis) dun mean nuttin’.

Of course you don’t give them credit – you are prejudiced against them.

But I notice they did give the woman the money and you didn’t.

 

[Spirithound]

Of course you don’t give them credit – you are prejudiced against them.

But I notice they did give the woman the money and you didn’t.

Have you even read my posts in this thread? I’ve been (gently) defending Walmart’s right to keep their money, as per what appears to be a standard contract.

Directly, no I did not give her any money, however I do contribute to my favourite charity every week

 

[vern_humphrey]

Have you even read my posts in this thread? I’ve been (gently) defending Walmart’s right to keep their money, as per what appears to be a standard contract.

Then why say this?

Oh, I don’t even give them that much credit. An apology is NOT a good and right thing to do unless it’s actually meant. Mama forcing an apology from big brother (while it may mollify li’l sis) dun mean nuttin’.