Black Friday Shopping and Your Safety

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Greenberg & Bederman

The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally known as “Black Friday” among merchants. This title doesn’t actually specify anything dark or foreboding. Instead it means that, due to the lowered prices and heavy advertising, this is quite often the day that brings many businesses out of the “red” (or in debt,) and into the “black” (or profitability.) Hundreds of thousands of early Christmas shoppers show up sometimes as early as five in the morning in order to take advantage of low prices.

Unfortunately, the insatiable American need to save money can sometimes lead to tragic consequences. For instance, last year in Nassau, Long Island, a 34 year old Wal Mart worker was killed in a stampede when he opened the door to let the throng of shoppers in. In addition to this, three other shoppers suffered injuries, and another had to be hospitalized for observation due to the fact that she was pregnant.

It is very easy to look at a situation like this and declare it an unavoidable tragedy, but as lawyers who represent people who have been injured due to no fault of their own, we view what happened last year in Nassau as a tragedy that should have been avoidable. While it is difficult for us or anyone to describe the needless death of someone as “textbook,” the incident at the Nassau Wal-Mart was in legal terms, a premises liability. Who was responsible for keeping order in the crowd? Who was responsible for making sure that these throngs of thousands of people were in line instead of milling around the front door in a bunch? Who told Jdimytai Damour to open the door without sending someone out to get people in line? Why weren’t barricades placed in the parking lot in order to corral the crowd? Why weren’t personnel outside the store with walkie talkies or radios? Or bullhorns for that matter? Why wasn’t there some sort of lottery system involved in getting people inside, or in steering people toward the items that everybody really wanted? Any one of these precautions could have saved Mr. Damour’s life, yet none of them were followed. The operators of this store simply threw the doors open and hoped for the best.

There were many common sense things that the operators of the Nassau Wal-Mart could have done to prevent this tragedy. The operators of that particular store couldn’t have used the argument that they weren’t expecting such a big crowd. Wal-Mart engaged in an enormous advertising campaign, with circulars in every single major newspaper in the country. They are also the largest big-box retailer in the United States. When it comes to dealing with holiday crowds, Wal-Mart is no babe in the woods.

It is important to remember that store owners and property managers have greater responsibilities than just opening the doors. They are under an obligation to make sure that the conditions for their customers are safe. In the twenty five years that we have been practicing injury law in Washington, D.C, we have represented more than our fair share of people who have been injured due to the negligence of property owners, and almost all of the injuries seem to stem from someone not doing their job properly. It has been our experience that accidents don’t just “happen” as much as they are CAUSED. An employee doesn’t clearly mark a wet floor after mopping up. A light bulb burns out in a stair case and isn’t replaced. The floor mat in front of the door isn’t square on the ground. These might not sound particularly dangerous, but bear in mind that falls can cause serious injuries, particularly if you are elderly.

According to the news, Black Friday sales were down this year, probably because of the sluggish economy. But bad economy or not, you should bear in mind that the holiday shopping season has just started, and we have a whole month of overcrowded shopping malls and jammed parking lots ahead of us. Take an extra second while shopping to remember your safety over the prospect of getting a deal.

If you or a loved one has been injured due to a fall or other accident that could have been prevented, contact Greenberg and Bederman for a free premises liability legal consultation today. We serve Maryland and Baltimore, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

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