Mandy-

You have no idea what you're talking about. Walmart sucks, but you're just making things up. You say that no other major corporation would have sued? That's just wrong-- it happens all the time. The only reason this case is making such big news is because it's Walmart and this woman has such extenuating circumstances. Walmart *should* make a donation (that's right, a donation, because they are entitled to that money), but these people should also be calling attorneys who specialize in legal malpractice. Had her attorneys been at all competent this would have been handled years ago. Jesus, I'm a paralegal and I know when people tell me they have a health plan through their employer to make sure it's not an ERISA plan before I distribute their funds. You can get mad and bash Walmart all you want, but you are angry at the wrong person. If you don't like ERISA plans, get mad at the government. Or boycott every company that uses one (and you'll be boycotting a lot). If you think the woman deserved more money, go after her attorneys. Maybe $1 million was the most their insurance company would pay but I find it hard to believe a jury wouldn't have made the company pay more.

I don't think anyone is saying it's awesome that this woman's family is suffering. People are just explaining the way the system works. The problem here honestly isn't Wal-Mart(which I agree is a totally evil company). The problem is the way subrogation to health insurance providers works and the fact that this woman obviously had crap attorneys.

(FYI to the person who said to sue the trucking company for more- it's possible 1) that's all that was available (an insurance company is not obligated to pay more than the limit purchased) or 2) a jury awarded that amount. This woman's lawyers should have been negotiating WalMart's lien long before now.)

Bob--

Usually in insurance policies, the language regarding subrogation says that the company is entitled to subrogation if the insured makes a recovery in a personal injury lawsuit. The insurance company doesn't sue the liability carrier- they are just entitled to be reimbursed if the insured gets a settlement, since that settlement is what should be used to pay their medical bills. It's kind of a shitty system because the insured is the person who gets screwed, as in this case, rather than the person who caused the accident.

i work in a law firm and you see this kind of thing all the time. it isn't unusual for health care plans through an employer to require subrogation when a person receives a bodily injury settlement. in pennsylvania where i work, welfare can only take half of your net settlement (after legal fees) but if you have a health plan or worker's comp they can take all the settlement money. The main problem is with this woman's attorneys. They should have been in contact with the health plan and known well in advance that they would demand subrogation and presented that to the third party carrier providing liability coverage as part of the claim. If $1 million was the limit of coverage available, they could probably have quietly negotiated with Walmart rather than just giving this woman the entire settlement and ignoring Walmart's right to subrogation.