From the New York Daily News:
A Wal-Mart worker died after being trampled when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island store Friday morning, police and witnesses said.
The 34-year-old employee, a temporary maintenance worker, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.
....
A 28-year-old pregnant woman was knocked to the floor during the mad rush. She was hospitalized for observation, police said. Early witness accounts that the woman suffered a miscarriage were unfounded, police said.
Three other shoppers suffered minor injuries, cops said.
Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar called the incident a "tragic situation."
Damn right it's tragic - and preventable. This is insanity! Shop till you drop or get trampled to death?
Hilary linked to this story in the comments.
I thought nobody was going to have money to shop this year.
ReplyDeleteI guess they are making an exception for Wal-Mart.
I think I'm going to celebrate Advent this year.
Does Walmart issue currency? I do a little more Advent each year, Diane.
ReplyDeleteThe town I work for has an ordinance mandating that large businesses who want to do special sales show proof that they've either:
ReplyDelete-hired adequate private security and traffic control, or
-that they hire off-duty police officers through the village
The Walmart in our town has done the latter each year for several years now, after the year a bunch of scuffles and traffic disputes broke out at one of their post-holiday sales.
Never, ever underestimate the ability of people to behave like belligerent herd animals in large groups.
Bubs, the management at this Walmart will learn their lesson the hard way. Walmart will have to pay. Perhaps, we'll see company-wide rules after this disaster. Or it could take a few more disasters before they catch on. This is not only tragic, but very bad PR.
ReplyDeleteHorrible. HORRIBLE.
ReplyDeleteI heard this as the lead on "Marketplace" as I was making dinner and I thought it was a joke at first. Horrid. And so, so sad. Terrorism in Mumbai and trampled consumers on Long Island. There you have it. Oremus.
ReplyDeleteThere also was a shooting in a Toys R Us, terrifying patrons including young children. It was reported that a four year old was screaming he didn't want to die! Four year olds shouldn't be worrying about dying. It is past time that we start working to undo what we as a society have done. It will take a lot of one by one work. I am heart sick.
ReplyDeleteelizabeth
And "they" say that the only way through this recession is for everyone to commit to buying more than they can afford -- again.
ReplyDeleteI understand the math but fear that the only way through this is a path of much pain. We have to learn to live smaller. And the government MUST provide a safety net and at some point pay for it by raising taxes on the well to do. They do not provide trickle down impetus to the economy rather they save and buy properties abroad.
I know that folks need to economize in their Christmas shopping, but I don't understand this frenzy at all. Why would anyone want to be part of a mob?
ReplyDeleteA shooting at Toys R Us? Was it a fight over a toy?
There use to be ridiculous items like $10 TVs for the first 10 customers at the opening of post Christmas sales and injuries occurred. These are now banned, I am not sure whether it is govt regulation or agreement between big stores. I am willing to let the hubbub subside and wait a few days before doing my yearly clothing shopping. I probably miss the best bargains but miss the hassle.
ReplyDeleteBubs, the management at this Walmart will learn their lesson the hard way. Walmart will have to pay. Perhaps, we'll see company-wide rules after this disaster. Or it could take a few more disasters before they catch on. This is not only tragic, but very bad PR.
ReplyDeleteBad PR which will be forgotten by Xmas. Wal-Mart won't pay a dime, as it will be blamed on the "crowd."
Sadly. Very sadly. And it's Wal-Mart; I doubt the worker's family will get more than a final paycheck, if that. Seriously. Remember when they sued a permanently injured employee to recover the damages she won in a civil suit to pay her medical bills for the rest of her life? They only relented because Olbermann and others made such a stink about it.
Who will ever know this employee's name?
Brian, those ridiculous come-ons are like playing the lottery and, as we see it could cost you your life.
ReplyDeleteRmj, yes, I remember that. So you think that employee's family will get nothing? That's sad.
Every time I go to Walmart, which is about 4 times a year, I write a post about it, because it is such an unpleasant experience.
Rmj,His name was Jdimytai Damour and Wal-mart has life insurance on all employees, though nothing is enough to make up for this tragedy. Unfortunately, I wasn't surprised either by the shoppers who ran him over, or the ones who complained that the store closed and wouldn't let them shop because someone had died. As for why the store didn't have enough security etc, perhaps the fear of the economy made the crowds bigger than that store had expected. No one here knows how much more the store could have done. "The customer is always right" and our lawsuit happy culture mean that large stores will be sued no matter what. I work for Wal-mart and if a customer attacks me, I can't defend myself (and workers are fired if they do)because if I hurt them the store will be sued, but if they do something stupid, they still sue Walmart because it must be the store's fault. This could happen at any large store's sale and I agree with those above that it says a lot about the consumerism of our culture. I am also sure that before Christmas stores will be issued new rules for crowd control--too late for this case, but it won't be forgotten.
ReplyDeletePrayers for Mr. Damour's family and the others injured by the mob.
Pardon me, Chris, but I'm a lawyer, as well as a pastor and a commenter. I do know how much more Wal-Mart could have done. I have a very clear idea of their responsibilities.
ReplyDeleteI also know how difficult it would/will be for the family to establish liability against Wal-Mart.
And life insurance? On a temporary employee? And it will pay how much to the family for lost wages, lost companionship, perhaps a lost father and husband, etc.? Not enough. Not nearly. As I say, I'm a lawyer, I know how these things are calculated as "damages" in wrongful death suits, and it far exceeds what any life insurance policy will pay; and even then, it's not enough.
Wel-Mart will pay? Nothing compared to what they hoped to earn that day. They have responsibility, morally if not legally, for crowd control. They shirked it, because a man was trampled to death. End of story. Legally, and morally.
I was hired as temp and became full-time and signed paperwork for life insurance on my first day, given by the company no charge to me in case of "accidents." Obviously, not enough for a life, but obviously you won't believe a word I say anyway, working for evil Walmart. Certain,not all, customers have always been worse to me than the company.
ReplyDeleteThe shooting at Toys R Us may have been gang related; not clear. It happened in Palm Desert (near palm Springs), hardly a hotbed of violence, generally.
ReplyDeleteIT
Chris, I understand that you need to work and that you happen to work at Walmart. The cheap prices are partly due to exploitation of factory workers in other countries, and partially due to exploitation of their own employees. But they're not the only company doing that.
ReplyDeleteHowever, when I go into Lowe's here in town, or Target in a nearby town, both big box stores that give me the willies, too, their employees are much more cheerful and helpful than Walmart employees. My conclusion is that the workers are treated better by their bosses and that they actually are happier in their jobs.
As I said, I worked retail, and I know that customers can be mean, but your very attitude toward Walmart customers proves my point. If not for the customers, you'd have no job, and yet you seem to have a kind of contempt for them, an attitude that I encounter much too frequently in the employees in Walmart stores.
I don't know the legalities of how Mr. Damour's poor family will fare from now on vis-a-vis Walmart. I pray that they WILL be treated fairly, but I have my doubts. I'll wait and see what kind of country-wide policies for crowd control are implemented at Walmart.
We have learned nothing from 9/11. We came together briefly after that tragedy, and now it is forgotten. We have learned nothing from the past several years of an economy spiraling down. The answer is still to "spend, spend, spend" in a misguided attempt to prop up an economy that will fail anyway. A successful Christmas season will not fix the huge problems our economy faces.
ReplyDeleteI have never gotten up early for one of these early sales, and likely never will. I'm glad to say I spent not a penny yesterday. I will certainly be spending some money for Christmas gifts, but this year will be sparser than years past, and I think it may be a good tradition to start. Christmas should not be about overspending on gifts no one needs. It is about celebrating the birth of Christ. I will try to keep my focus on that, despite the raucous chaos of the marketplace.
I was hired as temp and became full-time and signed paperwork for life insurance on my first day, given by the company no charge to me in case of "accidents." Obviously, not enough for a life, but obviously you won't believe a word I say anyway, working for evil Walmart. Certain,not all, customers have always been worse to me than the company.
ReplyDeleteSorry you persist in misunderstanding me, Chris, but you do prove my point. Wal-Mart has identified this poor dead man as an employee of a temporary agency, not Wal-Mart. So I doubt they even had a life insurance policy on him.
I do not call Wal-Mart "evil." I speak as a lawyer, with a lawyer's understanding of liability for actions. Wal-Mart, IMHO, is liable for this man's death. But I doubt they will be held liable. That liability lies both morally and legally, but I don't expect the legal system to call the company to account. Nor, especially is this man was employed by a company Wal-Mart contracted with, rather than by Wal-Mart, do I expect Wal-Mart to do anything for his family, other than issue a statement of regret over his death.
That's not "evil" which is peculiar to Wal-Mart, that's the American Way of Business.
BTW, considering what Wal-Mart did to that employee I mentioned before, you might check the terms of that life insurance policy. It's not beyond possibility the beneficiary is Wal-Mart. They clearly have subrogation rights under the health insurance policy they provide.
Suzer, we've cut way back. The children pick names now, and the adults in the family don't exchange presents. We all think it works pretty well.
ReplyDeleteI remember one Christmas day, with all the gifts opened and the gift wrapping lying around, thinking, "This is obscene." Soon after that, I suggested the idea of cutting back.
I read that two people died in the shootings at the toy store. The killings did not seem to involve a fight over a toy, but the dead are still dead.
ReplyDeleteLord, have mercy.