Employers grab accident victims' cashThe woman stocked shelves for a few months and because of signing on to the health care plan, she's lost out on all of the settlement money that was meant to go towards her continued care.A collision with a tractor-trailer seven years ago left 52-year-old Deborah Shank permanently brain-damaged and in a wheelchair. Her husband, Jim, and three sons found a small source of solace: a $700,000 accident settlement from the trucking company involved.Wal-Mart's health plan sued an ex-worker, brain-damaged in a crash, to collect money from a settlement she'd received. It's part of a trend in which companies aggressively try to recoup insurance costs.
After legal fees and other expenses, the remaining $417,000 was put in a special trust. It was to be used for Deborah Shank's care.
Instead, all of it is now slated to go to Deborah's former employer, Wal-Mart Stores.
Well, that is just one more reason for needing some variety of universal health care! I'd rather be paying more in taxes and be assured that I will be taken care of, should something horrible happen, than be paying insurance premiums to an insurance company that will do everything in its power to avoid paying out, and then seek reimbursement after the fact!
And more: Walmart takes out life-insurance on its employees.
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