Wal-Mart Sues Brain-Damaged Former Employee for $470,000!

It may be the "status quo" but it sure isn't a fair rule at all and I'm glad this has been publicized. Just another case of corporate greed. The settlement she received was to be in a trust fund for her future care so I would think she'd have won her case but I'm not surprised the Supreme Court, such as they are now, wouldn't hear her case. Am I to take your last sentence to mean you're criticizing the lawyers for taking their cut? Annie

"Of course lawyers get their cut. It just seems like an awful lot to me. And no one seems concerned about that. Only about the place that makes it possible for my family to stay afloat." We all know lawyers' fees are too high so that's nothing new. They got slightly above 40%, which is about average for that kind of suit. I always say everyone loves to attack lawyers until they need one and in this family's case they sure did need one. I'll sink before I'll support a company like Wal-Mart from now on. The truth is, there are places where I can get things for cheaper than Wal-Mart and I don't have to drive as far. Everything there is made in China anyway. "If your insurance pays your medical bills for an accident that is someone else's responsibility to pay, then they are legally entitled to the money that they paid in the first place AS A COURTESY." PLEASE don't tell me an insurance company does anything out of the goodness of their heart or as a courtesy. "That is all I'm saying. If you are in an accident that is someone else's responsibility to pay (like worker's comp, car accident), your health insurance doesn't have to pay the bills at all. But the people I've known who were in accidents, their insurance would pay initially so that they could get medical care while waiting for a settlement, but you have to sign papers that if you sue, they will be paid back. Otherwise it is you getting double payout for the same bills." She did not get double payout for the same bills! She requires constant care and will for the rest of her life, that's what the settlement money was for. If Wal-Mart felt the need to sue anyone it should have been the trucking company to pay the original medical bills she had. "The same thing would have happened had she had Medicaid. You sign a paper saying if you sue for an accident you have to repay Medicaid for the accident-related bills. Most people just don't pay attention to the contracts that they sign." I'm not sure if her family signed any such papers or not. I'm glad to see this story has gotten more airplay today following the original report of it last evening. Wal-Mart should be exposed for the greedy guts they are. What hypocrites they are with some of the commercials they've had bragging about how they take care of their associates! Annie

Of course lawyers get their cut. It just seems like an awful lot to me. And no one seems concerned about that. Only about the place that makes it possible for my family to stay afloat. If your insurance pays your medical bills for an accident that is someone else's responsibility to pay, then they are legally entitled to the money that they paid in the first place AS A COURTESY. That is all I'm saying. If you are in an accident that is someone else's responsibility to pay (like worker's comp, car accident), your health insurance doesn't have to pay the bills at all. But the people I've known who were in accidents, their insurance would pay initially so that they could get medical care while waiting for a settlement, but you have to sign papers that if you sue, they will be paid back. Otherwise it is you getting double payout for the same bills. The same thing would have happened had she had Medicaid. You sign a paper saying if you sue for an accident you have to repay Medicaid for the accident-related bills. Most people just don't pay attention to the contracts that they sign. I agree it is sad for this woman, but apparently she just got too low of a payout to make it worth paying the lawyers. They probably told the family they could get much more and then couldn't.

I've heard similar stories from Wal-Mart employees and former employees from my area too. I think this story of this poor woman should be circulated as widely as possible and maybe people will see beyond the few cents they save at the cash register and start doing their shopping elsewhere. Gosh, I'm sure not saying that in the hopes of putting you or your mother out of a job, Hon, I do understand, you have to go where the money is and in this economy there aren't many decent jobs around. Maybe if this story receives enough attention the powers that be at Wal-Mart will reverse their decision and decide to help this former employee and her family instead of destroying their lives totally. Annie Annie

This sounds like it was due to the insurance that Wal-Mart offers their employees and not Wal-Mart itself. My daughter worked for them for a while and was hurt while on the job. She not only had all her medical bills and therapy paid by them she even received her weekly checks just as if she was working. I just have to say that the person who was injured while clocked out can sue Wal-Mart because she was inside the store when the accident happened and it was their fault for not cleaning up the mess before the accident. When you are inside any store even if you work for them but are not on the clock you are then considered a customer. Call Legal Aide and see if there is anything that can still be done about it.

I was also going to say...just like anyone, this employee can sue the company wether or not she's at lunch. That's why these big companies carry insurance.

This is sad. I would certainly hope this story was told inaccurate but Its probably true. I heard alot of people said they will quit shopping there because of this. Walmart likes to milk every cent they can.

I too come accross as Harsh. I am not picking on Walmart in quite the FAshion that people might think , although I can see how my own words could be seen as such.My Candor gets me into a lot of trouble ( I'm still working on that , I get too involved , I need to step Back ) What Infuriates me mostly is a Health-Care system which does not work. And I do not know who is at Fault. ( That's the worst part !!!! )Where do you turn , when you see an injustice ??? My Ego gets the Best of Me on these issues. All I can say is....I am excited to see two Candidates ( Mr. Obama , and Mrs. Clinton ) Clearly addressing this issue in their Campaigns. No matter how you dice it....it's a step in the right direction. My words do sound judgemental at times , and that is wrong. I am my own worst Critic. I judge myself ( if you can believe it ) for talking to guys on mylot on issues of relationships and pretty much any other topic , Because in my weirdness....It just simply feels wrong....even though I am more comfortable with Men then I am with women ( Except for you Annie , you're Cool !!! )I have always Felt more at ease talking to Men then Women , don't ask me why...I am just weird that way.Just like today....I have already talked to two guys in my Friends column and I felt terrible for it , But I just feel more comfortable with Men. Yes I am Racked with guilt at all times.....But I'm working on that too. anyway it was great talking to you Annie , Oh....By the way....My story that I wrote a while ago ( Brain Fart ) about having a girlfriend and having extra Marital ( well ...you know ) Never happened. I was just going crazy ( Insanity Fart???? ) for a while. My Husband is my Rock , and he always Brings me and my Colorful Imagination back to Earth. He understands me to a T He is my foundation , and of course he knows everything I do on Mylot I show him everything. No Secrets and a lot of Communication....that's the Best recipe for a Long-Lasting Marriage. God Bless you Annie.

See my post following the previous response. Annie

Same here! Annie

As I said I've read several articles on this subject and all I'm saying is Wal-mart is not the villain. The lawyer maybe one but not Wal-mart. The family chose to use the insurance and then didn't want to repay it. Well then Wal-mart has the right to sue them for it. I'm just tired of everyone trying to blame corporate America for everything when it's not their fault. I'm seeing these articles about this woman and "Oh how sad she can't have a private nurse anymore" and "they are taking her money after she just lost her son in Iraq". The family is looking for a escape goat and the press is helping them It is sensationalistic reporting and from what I'm reading a lot of it is being left out; which I tried to bring up. Why did they settle for so little? Why is she on medicaid and not medicare for example? How she can have medicaid while having all this other money in the bank? Why is she entitled to a private room and so on? Why didn't the lawyer warn the family that Wal-Mart could take the money? All of these and more. Issues that aren't being put into the articles. As for what has happened in my life yes I have something similar going on. My niece was a crossing guard. She was hit by a truck. The school is saying they don't have to pay for her medical because she's a volunteer although for right now they are paying it and the trucking company is saying they aren't at fault since she was in the middle of the road. She will never work again, will never live on her own, etc. She is very much like this woman but she is only in her 20's. She will never have a child or anything like a normal life again. She (actually her mother since she is her legal guardian) will have to sue in order to get the medical care that is needed. Now if there is a clause in her coverage for the same thing then she better sue for more then what she has to repay. She should make sure she sues and has it where they have to cover all future medical needs and pay for past ones. That is something they can have done.

The thing is though if that money is in trust for her then she still wouldn't have gotten medicaid. All they look at is how much money you have, doesn't matter if it's in trust or not. That's why I'm saying things don't add up right in these articles. Oh and believe me I know how long it takes to get approved for Social Security since I'm fighting for it. I also cannot get medicaid, because I'm not classified disabled by Social Security yet nor am I 5 months pregnant (those are the only two ways I can qualify for it) so I have to wonder how she is getting it. I'm sure the family does want her to have quality care but the thing is she can get that without a private room and so on. I know how Nursing homes are, I've worked numerous ones over the years when I could as have other family members. You can have quality care without one on one and without a private room. The thing is though the article stated the family knew Wal-Mart would want the money but they figured since they didn't ask for it immediately they would be able to keep it. They knew they owed it and didn't pay it. So they could have sued for a lot more but they choose not to. Also where then does Wal-Mart draw the line? They make the exception here but what about others. "Well you let her have it why not me?". It would set a precedent and others would be quick to jump on the bandwagon not just with Wal-Mart but with any other company. It wouldn't matter if it was an extreme case or not, they would try to spin it to their best advantage and make Wal-Mart look the bad guy and as shown in here society seems quick to think that because it's a corporation that they should bow out and let the person have the money whether they are entitled to it or not. All it would take is them making it into a sob story. For example: "I couldn't work for three weeks and I'll have the power turned off and I have a baby in the house. Wal-Mart shouldn't take my money." Anyone can make it sound bad whether it's really that bad or not. The press pounces hoping to sell papers and people jump to side with the person because they want to be able to blame companies for the problems.

I'm sorry about your niece and I wish her only the best. I also want to apologize if I seemed harsh but I stand by my original statements about Wal-Mart, I DO blame them because they could have shown some compassion here. I don't know why she would have been on Medicaid instead of Medicare but maybe she's not approved yet? That can take forever, even in extreme conditions like hers. Medicare alone wouldn't come close to paying for around the clock nursing home care and if they owned a home or owned anything at all it would be taken from them, so if her husband divorced her that may be why also. As far as her having a private room or a private nurse, I'm sure her family wanted the very best possible care for her and you don't always get that in a nursing home, I know from when my mother was in one after breaking her hip. It's not the nurses or nursing assistants' faults either, they're always working shorthanded so the patients don't always get the attention they need. I does seem as though somebody overlooked something here because the money she was awarded was supposed to be put into a trust fund for her long term care. If they settled without trying for me or why they did so if they did, I don't know but they possibly were really strapped for money. I still think Wal-mart should do the right thing. If it were just a minor accident and someone had gotten a settlement it would be different but sometimes regardless of the fine print exceptions should be made and Wal-Mart can more than afford to make an exception for this woman. Annie