Following controversial discussions, Wal-Mart is dropping its effort to collect over $400,000 in health-care reimbursement for payments made to a former employer after she suffered brain damage in a traffic accident.

Deborah Shank, 52, lost much of her memory and ability to communicate or walk in a crash between her minivan and a tractor-trailer in May 2000. Following the accident, the woman was confined to a wheelchair and is currently living in a nursing home. At the time, she was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart’s health and benefits plan. Ms. Shanks’ family sued the truck company and won $700,000.

Ms. Shank also lost her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, who was killed shortly after arriving in Iraq.

According to court records, $417,477, which remained from the settlement after attorney’s fees and costs, went into a trust to care for Ms. Shank.

After the Shanks won their lawsuit, Wal-Mart sued them to recover medical costs totaling about $470,000. On Tuesday, though, the company said it would give up the lawsuit.

“Occasionally, others help us step back and look at a situation in a different way. This is one of those times. We have all been moved by Ms. Shank’s extraordinary situation,” Wal-Mart Executive Vice President Pat Curran said in a letter to Jim Shank, according to CNN Web site.

“We wanted you to know that Wal-Mart will not seek any reinforcement for the money already spent on Ms. Shank’s care, and we will work with you to ensure the remaining amounts in the trust can be used for her ongoing care. We are sorry for any additional stress this uncertainty has placed on you and your family,” Curran added.

Mr. Shank thanked Wal-Mart for revising its decision, adding, “I wish it hadn’t taken them so long, this never should have happened. I sincerely hope no other family ever has to go through this.”