Reader Commentary on Wal-Mart vs. Debbie Shank

Congratulations to those who are finally seeing Wal-Mart for who they really are. They are a money hungry corporation just interested in stockholders and profits. They stopped caring about their customers, employees, and suppliers a long time ago.
Wal-Mart, always cheap always.

there is just one word this should not have even gone this far so the next thing BOYSCOTT

Walmart is a great company to not like but this is not about Walmart.

Walmart cannot make an exception in this case. This is not their money to give. It is up to their medical insurance company and the president this would set.  Welcome to American HR and medical coverage. 

There may be many reasons to dislike Walmart but this company is more reflective of the US then you might like. 
Fix medical coverage and minimum salaries and a lot of the reasons people don’t like Walmart go away. 

This is our problem, not theirs.

Does anyone comment on if this woman was at fault in the accident with the truck, or partially at fault, because this seems like a low settlement.  Also, Wal Mart should only be able to subrogate against the settlement for medical bills, the pain and suffering $ should not be available to Wal Mart.  Also, I am sure the attorneys took a big chunk of $ for the first lawsuit, then the appeal, and now another appeal, which could take another chunk of the money.  There are too many facts missing from this story as to why the settlement was so low, and Wal Mart does have a right to subrogate, it is written in any insurance contract I have seen.  Perhaps their attorney should have explained this to the Shanks.  Additionally, Wal Mart cannot give Shank different consideration then any of their other employees, or they will be sued for discrimination, so it is a no-win situation for all involved.  I do think that a trust fund should be set up for contributions to help her.

Phylls makes the point quite well—as I wrote months ago the attorney Graham for the Shanks is the culprit, he made the mistake in the settlement and he should be suied by the Shanks for mal-practice.  The problem is in getting a lawyer to sue another lawyer (they all stick together).  I don’t know who is paying for the appeals or if attorney Graham is doing pro-bono because of his original good.  Wal-Mart watch is not going about this correctly, instead of putting WM in such a bad light, focus on the attorney who handled their case.
I do agree that the powers to be at WM could make a donation to solve the problem, that is up to their conscience.
We don’t know all of the facts and thus it is difficult to know exactly what transpired.  Depending upon how this money is deposited and in whose name, etc the Shanks might not have to return.  Too many legal avenues to discuss without knowing all the facts.  Please pray for the Shanks and contribute if you can.

This is unbelievable. They gross 90 billion dollars a year and they sue a mother with no memory and a dead son do to the war and wal-mart has the nerve to do such a thing. This is whats wrong with money hungry power abusing corprate America. But dont only blame wal mart make sure US supreme court gets its fair share they denied to hear shanks case. I will never shop at a wal-mart or ever recommend anyone to ever shop there again. America is showing there way to take care of their people. This should be brought to our new canidates attention and just see what they have to say about it all.

caleb,

In case you haven’t heard, this country operates under “The Rule of Law”, instead of “The Rule of Emotion”, that is why the Supreme Court refused to hear it!!  Instead of going off ‘half cocked’, clearer heads should prevail and a ‘solution’ found to the Shanks problem, not just pointing fingers at the most visible company, which the courts have already ruled are in the right, that solves nothing!!

I guess I am shocked tha Walmart let this get this far.  They could have quietly let this woman alone and not have received all of this bad publicity.  No one wins in this situation.  Walmart has the law behind them and the court of public opinion leans toward Mrs. Shanks.  Sounds like the only winner is the Shanks’s attorney

I think that walmart sucks, but could the shank’s not go back to court with the trucking co. and sue them again for the amount walmart wants back?  I know that is basically pitting one business against another, but see who turns out to be the better one.  I don’t think it would be walmart.

I could care less about the “Rule of Law”. Law is nothing more than a place for evil rich corporates to hide.

My family and friends decided long ago to stop shopping at Walmart. It was hard at first but when they saw how serious I was in the fight against it, they had no problem contributing to the cause. Walmart really is an evil empire with a big smily face as a slogan. They hurt their employees. They contribute to slavery by using sweatshops aorund the world. Its a disgrace. The local paper allows me to write a column every week about Walmart and the latest dirt. This has dramatically helped local businesses in stealing the good people away from Walmart.

The country doesnt need Walmart or its cheap prices. I would rather pay more and be loyal to a friendly face and great personalized service. Local businesses are still what America originally stood for. But America now seems to stand more for corruption because of cowardice and busy sellouts.

Wake up and realize that Walmart IS the same as America 2008 and many other countries are much better places to live.

How pathetic that Walmart isn’t foregoing this lawsuit against the Shank family.  Their lives will never be the same after this tragic accident.  Power and greed are insane obsessions that disconnect people from people.  Very Sad.

I spend an average of $350.00 a month at W,M., all the time ignoring some of the injustices to thier employees, but after watching the andersen cooper report at cnn, this is the last straw and not only will stop shopping ther after so many years, I will do my best to encourage my friends and family to never shop there ever again. From now on TARGET,WALLGREENS,CVS ETC. ETC.,IS THE PLACE FOR ME.  WALL MART CAN GO WHERE THE SUN DON’T SHINE

I also spend around $300.00 a month at Wal-Mart and have been contemplating stopping because of concerns over their food sources, but this story pushed me over the edge.  Kroger and Target here I come!

I will never shop at Walmart again!

The Wal-Mart decision to proceed with the recovery of money from the settlement of the Debbie Shank injury case is a HUGE CORPORATE BLUNDER!!! Millions of people are reading and hearing about the Shank family plight, and they are fully aware of Wal-Mart’s multi-billion sales. There will be a buyer backlash against this retailer, and the lost sales dollars will make the money they might recover from the Shanks seem totally insignificant. Wal-Mart’s image is once again severely tarnished....and the picture of a greedy, uncaring retail giant is reinforced. SHAME ON YOU...WAL-MART!!!!  As a matter of principle, my family will not buy at Wal-Mart if they don’t help the Shanks....no matter how low their prices!!!

Has anyone ever wondered, why the Shanks submitted their claims to their health insurance, instead of their ‘auto insurance’?  As this was an ‘auto accident’, the claim should have been filed with them, something sounds ‘fishy’ here, I don’t think we are hearing ALL of the facts in this case.

Also, the Shanks son said the trucking company’s insurance had a limit of $1,000,000.00, so that was all they could collect, but, if a court settlement goes above the insurance limit, the trucking company itself would have been liable to pay the amount over the limit.  I get the feeling, that this case was settled ‘Out of Court’ for a flat amount of $1,000,000.00, to avoid a trial.

JoeJ;

[They hurt their employees]

In this case, walmart is trying to ‘protect’ their insured employees, by recovering the money that was paid by the employees insurance company, that was to be returned after ‘settlement’, it would HURT those employees, if they had to pay higher premiums to rebuild the insurance fund, if this money wasn’t recovered.

The arrogance of Wal-Mart is unblievable anyone who shops at Wal-Mart after this decision to persue any money from the settlement of the Debbie Shank is just as bad as Wal-Mart.  Shop at Wal-Mart and you are just as bad.

Wal-Mart just did by law. It was Judge who rewarded Wal-Mart and supreme court denied Shank’s insurance. Poor Wal-Mart is blamed for no reason.

The wheel will come full circle and Wal-Mart will pay in lost revenue and shareholder anger. Imagine doing this to a family whos son paid the ultimate sacrifice for this country!

I’ve never been a big Wal-Mart shopper but I will try and convince people never to shop there.

Poor Walmart? Since when is $90 BILLION in profits poor anything??? They are a soulless corporation, multiplying their greed around the world like cockroaches… hiding behind a smiley face. They have countless problems with employee abuse, discrimination to name a couple and they’re just digging their own grave with this case.

Walmart doesn’t HAVE to go after the Shanks. They COULD help them via the Walmart Foundation or even the Walton Foundation, both which have a TON OF MONEY. But they HAVE NOT.

BOYCOTT WALMART. You’re supporting the devil if you shop there and this devil already’s gotten too much of the world’s money but obviously none of its heart.

I am not sure, but doesn’t Walmart have insurance on its employees travelling back and forth to work? Does anyone out there know anything about this? Maybe, if they do, it could help the Shanks somehow?

Also, doesn’t Walmart have a fund EMPLOYEES IN NEED? Have the Shanks received anything from that? Anyone out there know anything about that? I don’t know if this helps at all, but I hope in some way it does.

When I saw this story on CNN I was outraged. Although I am a reasonable person who can see both sides this is just crazy. Considering Wal-Mart makes billions of dollars of year why can’t they look the other way on this issue. This poor woman’s family has been through enough. Maybe a petition should be starting on behalf of the family? I can tell you Wal-Mart will suffer some loss since our family will not be spending anymore of our dollar’s there!

typical walmart, screw the people, all they care about is the bottom line.  i’m glad that target is opening nearby.  no more shopping walmart for us. we must all unite and boycott companies that don’t care about people.

I do see why Wal-Mart wants to recover this money, but this is a bigger issue than money. Doesn’t Wal-Mart see that this is going to hurt them way more than it helps?

I just saw the story on CNN this morning. It is sad that Wal-Mart refused to send a representative. Instead, they send a written statement. They should have pulled some damage control and stated on the air that they weren’t going to pursue this further.

I can understand both sides of the argument, but what I say is:

Why doesn’t Wal-Mart headquarters dump $470,000 from its profits into the health care fund instead of demanding that the family pay it back? This would be the morally correct thing to do!

These are rhetorical questions and do not require a reply. I know the answers already.

Anonymous in 4:57 A.M.----In regard to your Associates in Need Fund, this excerpt from an article in the Nation magazine may be of particular interest to you----:"The Waltons could be an enormous force for good,” says Responsible Wealth’s Chuck Collins. “As the company’s biggest shareholders, they could decide that Wal-Mart could pay a living wage. They could use their charitable dollars not to undermine public education but to boost educational opportunity. They could become major contributors to social good. But they’re not.”

One item in the Walton Family Foundation’s most recent IRS filing shows how uninterested this family is in true social responsibility: a measly $6,000 to something called the Wal-Mart Associates in Need Fund. Contrast that with the millions the family spends promoting right-wing causes, and it becomes painfully clear that the Waltons value conservative ideology far more than they value the human beings who have made them the richest family on earth. Told about these figures, Kathleen MacDonald, a Wal-Mart candy department clerk in Aiken, South Carolina, responded bluntly, “All I have to say about that is, it doesn’t surprise me. Like Bush, they don’t have a clue what working families go through.” MacDonald would like to see The Simple Life do a show about working at Wal-Mart. “I could see Paris Hilton on a register at Christmastime, or stocking shelves,” she says. Or perhaps Alice Walton as a greeter, on her feet all day, thanking us for shopping at Wal-Mart.-------------------

Walmart may be legally correct but the perception that this multi-billion dollar company cares more about being right than in taking care of someone who used to work for them.  If the corporate office had wanted to avoid this, there are ways they could have proceded that would have kept the employees from paying the loss without causing this family even more pain.  It just shows the enormous gap between the reality of the lives of the store worker and the corporate office.  It sends the message that the company really doesn’t care about the workers who make that profit possible.
We don’t have many shopping choices here on Maui but this is the last straw.  This kind of medical disaster could happen to anyone of us.

I am really sick of these multibillion dollar companies like Exxon and Walmart.  The only way to get them to understand how despicable their actions are is to hit them in the pocket.  I’m not shopping at Walmart after April 1st (really today) but I say April to get a guage on whether or not this boycott is effective.  Walmart is a global company that made $90 billion in profits last year.  What they understand the most is money.  They will understand that they need to forgive the Shanks $470,000 and do whats right when there is a negative impact on their sales.  Lets send Walmart a big message--their unconscionable practices are not acceptable.  Stop shopping at Walmart beginning April 1st.  This will hit them in the pocket!

This is the last straw! Discrimination, slave working environments and now this. Walmart is despicable and every person needs to boycott them in the name of human decency.

WHAT ABOUT THE GREEDY LAWYERS.  WHY ARE THEY GETTING OFF SCOTT FREE.
lAWYERS AND THEIR GREED MAKE MY PHYSICALLY ILL

YES-------I AM SHOUTING.

Bev: I AM SHOUTING BACK-CAN YOU HEAR ME?---LAWYERS ARE LIKE HUSBANDS AND WATCHDOGS-YOU DON’T PARTICULARLY WANT ONE,BUT THEY COME IN DAMNED HANDY WHEN YOU NEED ONE!!

P.S.:WONDER HOW MUCH THE WALMART LAWYERS HAVE MADE ?? THEN WALMART WRITES IT OFF AS BUSINESS EXPENSES?

ddrb: Oh, my God! I had no idea that Wal-mart Associates in Need Fund was only given $6,000.00 by the Waltons.
I work at our local Walmart. I have been reading on the computer as much as I can to get information for a family member who lost their job at Walmart.
We live in a seriously economically depressed rural area. Walmart is probably the best paying job in the area, next to a local factory(the factory has been known to insist that its employees sometimes work, I have heard, 60 hour weeks, which I am getting too old for).
I hope that Walmart will give the money back to the Shanks family.
I have read that the Waltons have paid as much as 2.6 million dollars for lobbyists. I am sure that we will never know what they pay their union-busting crew, altho I have read that union busters get between $200.00-$500.00 a day plus big perks.
I am sure the Shanks family needs the money more!
Many thanks for your reply. I now have more resources to read.
I am also going to do my best to join the 04012008 boycott.
However, Walmart is the only place here where I can get some items.
But I will do my darnedest to boycott as much as I can.

What do you want from poor Walmart?

Their CEO only made $23.3 million last year and had to share his hotel room with other executives when he was traveling.

I HAVE BEEN A SECONDARY WAL MART SUPPLIER FOR MANY YEARS AND HAVE WITNESSED THE COMPANY MAKE UNBELIEVABLE MIS-STEP AFTER UNBELIEVABLE-MIS-STEP---BUT THIS MAY BE THE WORST.  YES THEY ARE WITHIN THEIR LEGAL RIGHTS--BUT THEY HAVE COMPLETELY LOST THE DIRECTION THAT SAM WALTON CHARTED.  THEY ARE HEARTLESS IN THEIR DEALINGS WITH VENDORS AND SUPPLIERS AND AS HEARTLESS IN THEIR DEALING WITH THIS FORMER EMPLYOEE.  IT IS LIKE WATCHING THE DEMISE OF A SUPERPOWER--THE POWER AND THE SIZE HAVE GOTTEN SO ENORMOUS AND THE DEMANDS FOR PROFITS SO GREAT THAT IT WILL SELF DESTRUCT GIVEN ENOUGH TIME UNDER ITS OWN WEIGHT AND POOR IMAGE.  WE ARE ALL WITNESSING A COURSE STUDY IN HOW AN AMERICAN CORPORATION FALLS.

To all the outraged posters,

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT:

If Wal-Mart’s insurance carrier hadn’t asked for the money back, the Shanks would be left in this situation:  They recieved $417,000.00 that was put in a trust fund for her, and according to CNN, there is a little over $200,000.00 left in it!!  Soon, with the care she needs, the fund would wittle down to ZERO!!  Then, what would they do?

Now, because the insurance carrier HAS asked for this money back, the Shanks will be left with this situation:  Thousands of outraged people will send in donations and that fund will grow to where Mrs. Shanks will be taken care of for the rest of her life!!  Just think, if only 1 million people send in only $2.00 each, the Shanks will get $2 million in donations, twice as much as they recieved from their settlement!!

In the end, the Shanks will be glad that Wal-Mart’s insurance carrier asked for their money back and so will the Wal-Mart employees, who will have their insurance fund restored!!

I think we may not have heard all the facts from both sides, however we know quite a bit.  Why don’t we all encourage everyone we know to boycott shopping at Walmart at least one day a week.  This should be nationwide so there is a complete shutdown of their stores.
tv

Does anyone know of an address where there is a fund set up for her? Or something on a website?

Bank of America is taking donations for the Debbie Shanks Fund.
If your local Bank of America does not know about this, they can contact the Missouri branch at 573 339 6500.
There is a good article explaining this on a site called pridedepot, or Pride Depot. (Sorry, my printer is down-could not print article to refer to.)

Wallmart you are just wrong for this. Just wrong.

If your local Bank of America does not know about this, they can contact the Missouri branch at 573 339 6500.

Or, just tell any BofA associate (yes, they call their workers “associates”, too) that the Shanks account is domiciled in Eastern Missouri (Cape Girardeau).

I cut up my Sam’s card and sent it back to them with a letter stating I will never do business with Wal-Mart or Sam’s until they make it right with Debbie Shank and her family...SHAME ON YOU WAL-MART I’ld rather give a few more bucks a week to my local grocery chain than put another nickel in the pockets of these heartless corporate types . No one cares about your legal rights..morally it is wrong to do this to this family.

Fuck Wal-Mart the Shanks need that money Wal-Mart is a selfish company and we should ALL GO TO K-MART NOW.

Fuck Wal-Mart the Shanks need that money Wal-Mart is a selfish company and we should ALL GO TO K-MART NOW.

If Sam Walton were alive today this would have NEVER made the news. Sam Walton built his store on “the people."He never forgot where he came from and he always remembered what he wanted for his growing business.

Since Sam Walton has died, I have slowly watched this company set aside the morals and values he once planted in his empire literally pulled from the roots and replanted by the “stuffed shirts” that run it now.

Wal-Mart is no different than any other business today. They are out to make money and they got caught doing something immoral to a handicap former employee.

Now that Wal-Mart is changing their mine about the ruling, trust me, it is not for “compassion”, it is damage control for the long range goals of Wal-Mart, the stock market, and to show earnings not losses.

People, the anger you show for Wal-Mart is one thing, but the businesses that abuse the American people and rob from hard working American people are no different. Until “we the people” start contacting Washinton DC and start the ball rolling to change laws in abuse towards “the people”, this will always be around.

Businesses should want their customers, not PREY on them!
Until we speak out and start changing laws.......then you should rest your case now!

I choose to contact BBB in the state; Attorney General US & state; USDJ & FTC in Washington DC. There links will lead you to where results matter. If you do not have a computer go to the library or write a letter. Yes....you will need an attorney eventually, but there is a lot you can do on your own before an attorney.

People I agree with everyone, but we can stand up for each other. We are “One Nation Under God” not money!

Have A Great Year !

JM