Gothamist: Wal-Mart Faces Lawsuit Over Worker's Black Friday Death

mike_in_o_town

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 16:25:28 -0500

First of all I gotta tell you that I used to work for some temp services and they make you sign a paper saying that neither the temp service nor the people you're being contracted out to are responsible for any injuries you may recieve on the job, so this poor fellow's family, most likely did not recieve a dime for their loss from either Wal-Mart of the employment service he worked for. Secondly, some of the places I've ended up at when I was contracted out to working as a temp employee were pretty f-ed up people wise. One factory I worked at the first thing I got from the forman on the job was him pointing out my italian heiritage and saying that I "obviously partied all my daddy's money and was broke and that's why I was there". For the record I neither drink nor use drugs. Thirdly, in order for someone like Wal-Mart or whatever company you're contracted out to at the time said company has to pay the employment service a said amount of money to buy out the contract so they can hire you full time, one that I worked at wanted $1,000 to buy out my contract bottom line being that most of the company you're contracted out to only want you for cheap labor to catch up on their quota and then it's "goodbye" and on to the next assignment, are we catching on so far? It's just a new form of slavery with the empty promise of "40 acres and a mule". What happened to this man was very wrong!!!

Sinchy

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:12:34 -0500

All wallmart had to do was separate the line (crowd, throng, mob may be better terms) with barricades into manageable sections of say fifty people at a time so that 50 at a time would be let in so that the crowd in back doesn't push those in front. All the people at the front were pushed by the people at the back so I think it is difficult to assign blame to individuals in the crowd. At that crowd level those inside it cease to become individuals and are part of the group and that group dynamic was fostered by wallmart not applying necessary crowd control.

TKaisen

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:53:01 -0500

#20- Then why did this only happen at this particular W-M? Because other places were smart enough to have security guards with weapons open the doors, not a temporary employee with no training in crowd control.

The Edge

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 10:34:33 -0500

#20- Then why did this only happen at this particular W-M?

r1b2

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:45:11 -0500

Also included in the suit is every living person named Walter or Martin.

robingee

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:42:01 -0500

Is there no security camera footage? There must be. I know there is cell-phone footage.

Brooklynbobby

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:36:36 -0500

Walmart is responsible for inciting those low-life, ignorant savages.

allie25

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:35:58 -0500

also, somewhere, there are some stupid, selfish fucks WHO KNOW they stepped on this man, thus contributing to his death. how do those morons sleep at night? probably really well knowing that even though they charged all their purchases that morning they still got a bargain. people make me fucking ill.

allie25

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:33:47 -0500

this whole just makes me so fucking mad. so what if he was hired by an outside company, the management of this store should be held responsible. they let a man die, on their watch. it could have EASILY been prevented. i fucking hate walmart. everyone should boycott walmart but people are so fat and stupid that they don't give a shit, as long as they can get garbage they don't need for a bargain. rant.

Tar_Baby

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:21:48 -0500

The management at that particular store should get a lot of the blame. The management should have been the ones to know exactly what kinds of people they would be expecting on the morning of black friday. I've been to that store a few times and they never had working price check scanners. That store is a bloody mess. If anyone should be sued, start with the management at that store. Oh, and also all of the savages that stomped on the poor fellow to death.

JRod5417

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:01:18 -0500

Walmart can disclaim liability all they want, but this matter will likely result in an out of court settlement. Even if he was not technically their employee, Walmart has a reasonable duty of care to all business invitees. They failed miserably on Black Friday and there will be consequences for them.

tingo

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 23:25:05 -0500

A billion from Walmart. And prosecution for everyone caught trampling and laughing.

Snoopy

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:22:47 -0500

In all the confusion I wonder how much merchandise was stolen from that Walmart.

NannyState

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:05:51 -0500

^ yep, you get it all here, primary, secondary and tertiary liability and all will have to pay. And let Walmart try to hang 'contribution' on the dead employee. They need to STFU, write the seven figure check and let this poor family grieve.

Mr Mel

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:58:40 -0500

He was killed because the Nassau County Police and Walmart Security failed to protect him. When you have a thousand bottom feeders lining up 24 hours before the store opens and don't prepare for the onslaught, you should be liable. This is a dream case for a negligence lawyer.

Seth Mulvey

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:45:22 -0500

Go after Walmart and every shopper present.

emilydickinson

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:12:45 -0500

I hope the ghost of that security guard haunts every flat screen tv sold that day a la 'Poltergeist'.

Snoopy

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:45:25 -0500

We can't hold the mob accountable until we have a good cross section of the mob? Were they shoppers from Joplin Missouri, Mansfield PA, Greenwich CT, Newark NJ, Cleveland OH, South Chicago IL. Description of most of the alleged perps please. Were they Korean, Hasidic Jews, Swiss, Bulgarian refugees, what were they? Did the shoppers still get their discounts? If not, then there could be a real case for a law suit.

henricus

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:32:02 -0500

Wal-Mart may have published these sale prices, but lets be honest: these people created the frenzy. Normal people don't do this sort of thing, willing to hurt other people to save ten bucks. This crowd was nothing but a bunch animals. I think its sad that we can't hold the mob accountable as well...

Scout1

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:01:04 -0500

#4, I think one can still easily describe the vast majority of the tramplers.

Spiny

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:00:50 -0500

Now here's a lawsuit I can support. Wal-Mart created the frenzy; Wal-Mart should pay. As should any major retailer which, not content to simply attract dangerous and rabid mobs, actually encourages them to form.

sinisterteashop

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:59:58 -0500

I'd like to see the family of the victim walk away with some money but it doesn't look likely since Wallmart has been making it clear since he was killed that he was a temporary employee hired by an outside company. They just killed him, they didn't employ him so they're not responsible, get it. And it looks like Workers Comp laws agree with Wallmart. Whatever the outcome Wallmart now has a bloody Black Friday to live down. It's a cumulative distaste for the company that's benefitted from the financial culture's wholesale slaughter of small mom and pop businesses across the country. Businesses that, for whatever their merits or demerits, once gone never come back again. And a whole locality and store of knowledge go with them.

Shinobi Shaw

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:55:53 -0500

#3 it was an entire mob, you can't specify individuals in this case, rather just go by a generalized description.

Snoopy

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:14:39 -0500

Any description of the perps who trampled him?

The Edge

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:04:48 -0500

What a great way to mourn his death.

matty

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:00:38 -0500

way to break the internet jen chung