It’s been almost a year since a truck driver working for Wal-Mart named Kevin Roper crashed into a limousine bus carrying Tracy Morgan, comedian James McNair, and a handful of other people. McNair died on the scene, and Morgan and six other people were taken to a hospital. Morgan suffered a head injury, a broken leg, and several broken ribs.
A few days after the incident, new details came out that claimed Wal-Mart had pushed Roper to stay awake for over 24 hours, which eventually caused him to fall asleep at the wheel. Roper pled not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide and reckless driving, and he’s apparently still waiting for that to go to trial. Shortly after they received the information about Roper, though, Morgan and the other people involved in the crash announced that they were suing Wal-Mart for negligence, with the actual wording of the suit putting the blame on Wal-Mart’s entire history of (allegedly) mistreating its employees.
Perhaps scared off by the specifics of the lawsuit, Deadline is now reporting that Wal-Mart and the victims’ attorneys have agreed to a confidential settlement. Basically, this means Wal-Mart won’t have to defend itself—or whether or not it forces its truck drivers to work in blatantly dangerous conditions that put themselves and others in serious danger—in court, and is instead paying out a secret (and presumably massive) amount of money. In a statement that Morgan released, he said, “Wal-Mart did right by me and my family, and for my associates and their families,” adding, “I am grateful that the case was resolved amicably.” Deadline also notes that Wal-Mart settled separately with McNair’s children earlier this year.