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Olbermann Wages a "Nightly, Indefinite" War Against Wal-Mart for Suing Brain Damaged Employee

Posted by Ali Frick, Think Progress at 6:11 AM on April 2, 2008.


Keith Olbermann says he will keep reminding people of “what they’re supporting when they go to Wal-Mart.
Olbermann vs. WalMart

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Eight years ago, Wal-Mart employee Debbie Shank was hit by a semi-truck, leaving her severely brain damaged and confined to a wheelchair. Last September, her son was killed in Iraq — a fact she has to be constantly reminded of since the accident left her virtually without any short-term memory.

Wal-Mart paid for her medical fees, but after Shank won $1 million from a lawsuit against the trucking company, her former employer sued her to recoup its medical expenses, despite the fact the settlement left her only $417,000 after legal fees:

But a clause in the retailer’s benefits agreement says the store can recoup medical fees paid if an injured employee receives damages from a lawsuit. Wal-Mart, which earned more than $11 billion in profits last year, sued Shank for $470,000, and won.

MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann has begun a campaign against Wal-Mart, tagging the company one of his “Worst Persons in the World” for four straight nights. Olbermann says he will keep reminding people of “what they’re supporting when they go to Wal-Mart. And we’ll do it nightly, and indefinitely.”

Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley, who called Debbie Shank’s case “unbelievably sad,” said in a statement: “Wal-Mart’s plan is bound by very specific rules. … We wish it could be more flexible in Mrs. Shank’s case since her circumstances are clearly extraordinary, but this is done out of fairness to all associates who contribute to, and benefit from, the plan.”

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Tagged as: health, olbermann, walmart, health care, shank

Ali Frick is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress.


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My last time at Wal-Mart...
Posted by: Xynyx on Apr 2, 2008 6:28 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I took in a Red Devil Grill that had been recalled. A friend had left it with me, and I never used it. It turned out that it had only been sold by Wal-Mart, and it was recalled for safety reasons. So, I took it to Wal-Mart and asked for my recall refund. They paid me. Except for when I end up in places where Wal-Mart is the ONLY choice I have (like in some places in central Indiana), I will never go there again.

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News about Walmart
Posted by: bookie on Apr 2, 2008 6:58 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
from wakeupwalmart.org


"After months of dragging the Shanks through the courts, and a week of national public outcry, Wal-Mart has finally seen past its own greed and decided that, after the $12 billion it has made in the past year, it will not collect the $470,000 for which it sued Debbie Shank," said Meghan Scott, spokesperson for WakeUpWalMart.com. "Now that Wal-Mart has started down this path of doing the right thing, we have a few more to add to the list. We call on you to do right by Olga Sanchez, the military mom in Big Spring, Texas who left her job at Wal-Mart after 24 years, when her manager refused her vacation request to take a bus from Texas to Georgia to see her youngest son deployed to Iraq. We call on you to do right by Sean Thornton, the airman in Orlando, Florida, who lost his Wal-Mart job after returning from active duty. There are plenty more where these come from, but for now, we'll consider today's decision a step in the right direction and hope it is a sign of better things to come for all Wal-Mart associates."

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» like putting makeup on a pig Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
» RE: like putting makeup on a pig Posted by: surfreality
The problem isn't solved
Posted by: JoshuaLudd on Apr 2, 2008 7:19 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Just because they backed down in this one case (after it being made VERY public) does not mean that things are okay now or that people should back off now. Their policy is still the same.. and they will still try to do this to others.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: The problem isn't solved Posted by: happyhermit
» RE: The problem isn't solved Posted by: Quannah
Hitting WalMart
Posted by: zipper696 on Apr 2, 2008 8:22 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
where it hurts - in the profit column.

I decided some months ago not to shop at these sharks.
I would rather pay 10% more for something at other retailers than support the Walton Gang and their Chinese slave labour force.

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Long time union member
Posted by: frank69 on Apr 2, 2008 8:39 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
As a long time union member, I never shop at Wal-Mart. I gladly pay more if necessary to shop elsewhere.

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» RE: Long time union member Posted by: outlander55
Kudos for Keith and Now to keep up the pressure
Posted by: djnoll on Apr 2, 2008 9:01 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Once again Keith Olbermann has shown how the power of a free press can create change for the good. It is time for the press, both MSM and alternative, to start working to create change in corporate America. We as the readers and bloggers here at Alternet do our part, but it needs to be taken to the streets of America. Wal-Mart has not just hurt families as has been pointed out here many times, it destroys whole communities' economic structure by driving out local businesses which keep money in healthy sustainable communities, they create poverty by paying low wages and selling goods that are dangerous. Wal-Mart talks a good game when it says it is going green, but often their products are not local and not made in the US which would make them more green.

We often talk about going green in this economy, but that does not mean just changing the products we use, it means treating the people within our communities with dignity and respect, and offering a helping hand to those who need it. Wal-Mart is the antithesis of this philosophy and until they start treating their customers, their employees, and their suppliers, as well as the communities which they depend on to make a profit with common humanity, they are not deserving of our business. They were built on rural development funds that should have gone to deserving rural businesses and farming enterprises of family farms. Instead they have helped to bankrupt rural America. It is time to demand that our state and local governments stop this kind of activity within their states, and that the local citizenry not only boycott Wal-Mart, but that they start developing local resources again and rebuild their communities with the help of their states. It is time to drive Wal-Mart out and start creating real jobs and real businesses at the local level. This is what will make America strong again, not bloodsucking leeches like Wal-Mart which is draining the very life out of our country.

http://www.standanddeliveramerica.com

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Another American Epitome
Posted by: sawdust on Apr 2, 2008 9:11 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Wal-Mart is just the retail arm of everything that has gone wrong in America. Capitalism made America what it is, but greed is destroying it.I have heard and read so many stories in the last 72 hours, about big oil, the military industrial complex, military cost over-runs and the Wall St. bail-outs, that I will be both ill and despondent for days.But we can't afford health insurance?

Wal-Mart started out as a small idea that simply got out of control They (it)have(has) destroyed small town businesses, kept China rolling in cash and abused humanitarian practices wherever they go. I avoid shopping there like the plague, and you should, too. But sometimes, like in rural INdiana, you have little choice.

Of course across the street you have Home Despot, or Lowe's, or something worse. Wal-Mart is a national disgrace and a monument to our shortsightedness, all at the same time. It is another American epitome, to be sure, but one of greed and blatant disregard for human dignity. Disgusting.

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It is in all of our insurance policy read the fine line....
Posted by: Grumpy on Apr 2, 2008 9:43 AM   
Current rating: 1    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Read the fine line when u get insurance through your work place the insurance company states that if u sue for a settlement that they are intitled to every bit of the money they paid out wal-mart isnt eating nothing its the insurance company that is eating all that money..... and people are saying there not going to shop at wal-mart again well I do not belive u all because they have low prices and we are all greedy and with the way the econemy is we are all out to save money period so keep going on saying that "Im Not Shopping At Wal-Mart Anymore" when infact is all a bunch of bull........

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» RE: speak for yourself jerk Posted by: Techubus
» RE: speak for yourself jerk Posted by: holmesjoanna
» RE: Glad you took the time Posted by: boydranchitos
sorry, but you and keith missed the boat on this one
Posted by: vociferouschicanery on Apr 2, 2008 10:07 AM   
Current rating: 2    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
if you think walmart is unique in its entitlement to reimbursement in the circumstance, you're very wrong. it is in fact, the standard. when someone hurt in an accident sues the truck owner who hit her, her special damages include the total medical bills plus her lost wages. some of the recovery is to reimburse her for medical bills, she did not pay. i guarantee you that your insurer will expect the same. if you are (heaven forbid) hit by a truck, and your (i'm sure excellent) insurance pays the bills, they will expect and be entitled to reimbursement, should you sue the truck owner for damages. maybe it's time to read your policy again.

so i write in the hope that Keith will, when he interviews her husband tomorrow night, NOT ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the room. will he continue to hammer away at baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad walmart? or will he actually ask the question he has so far been unwilling, unable, or otherwise not given to ask.

to wit, why, given that just her medical specials (nevermind her lost wages) were $470,000, did she agree to settle against the trucking company for an amount that would not even cover those after the attorneys were paid? i doubt they (her personal injury attorneys) reduced their bill at all, and received a quarter of a million dollars, for settling. and why did they also not attempt to settle with the insurer? again, that is standard in a personal injury case. often the attorney will attempt to get the insurer to accept a 3 way split, so everyone gets something. in california, the insurer's lien automatically attaches (as it should). the attorney can be disciplined for paying the client before settling the lien. too, the attorney can be liable for the lien if he ignores it and pays the client instead. so, where were they in all this? did they defend her when walmart sued to enforce its lien? or was it other attorneys?


she was brain damaged, so who made the decision to settle for her? her husband?

i have no love for walmart, believe me. but i want to see true reform in health care. a not-for-profit system, that creates a pool of money and distributes the risk over the whole country. in that way, we can ensure the best care for all. but such a system must be entitled itself to reimbursement for benefits it pays if, eventually, a third party is found liable for the damages. if the insurer is not able to recoup such costs, then its viability is undermined.

steven l. boortz, esq.

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» you miss again Posted by: KaptainSpiffy
» RE:I'm confused Posted by: Techubus
» RE: I'm confused Posted by: vociferouschicanery
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY COUNTDOWN & HERE'S TO MANY MORE YEARS!
Posted by: foreverhope on Apr 2, 2008 9:20 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Love you Keith, you're the BEST!

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It's a corporate culture issue
Posted by: surfreality on Apr 3, 2008 4:47 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
They see us as consumers as opposed to people.
Employees are tools as opposed to people.If the tool is broken, get rid of it...
Banks do the same thing. They stopped being financial partners and started playing "gotcha" with their credit cards and predatory lending. Customers are now targets instead of partners... The goal is to charge you the highest possible intrest rate for the longest possible time...

Strip malls are also symptomatic of this mind set... I personally get suspicious when I see a Taco Bell next to a Jiffy Lube; but maybe I'm reading a little too much between the lines...

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