Wal-Mart Makes the Honorable Choice
April 2, 2008
Of course, not without having made the family battle it in court for months, and having seen the story hitting the news and generating tons of bad publicity. But, at least the final result is a proper and the right one.
Wal-Mart drops $400,000 reimbursement claim against injured former worker
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is dropping a controversial effort to collect over $400,000 in health care reimbursement from a former employee who suffered brain damage in a traffic accident.
The world’s largest retailer said in a letter to the family of Deborah Shank of Cape Girardeau County in Missouri that it will not seek to collect money the Shanks won in an injury lawsuit against a trucking company for the accident.
Wal-Mart’s top executive for human resources, Pat Curran, wrote that Shank’s extraordinary situation had made the company re-examine the situation.
Deborah’s husband Jim Shank welcomed the news. Family lawyer Maurice Graham of St. Louis said Wal-Mart deserves credit for doing the right thing.
“It’s a good day for the Shank family,” Jim Shank said in a statement.