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Wal-Mart Stampede Victim’s Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Earlier this week, we carried a report on negligent security at Wal-Mart, and the death of a worker who died in a Black Friday stampede at a store in Long Island. The man, Jdimytai Damour was opening the doors to the store at 5 am, with an estimated 2,000 shoppers waiting outside. He had barely got the store doors open when the crowd of shoppers stormed in, creating a stampede. Damour was thrown to the ground, and died in the stampede. Later, it was confirmed that he had died of asphyxiation.

Now, his family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the giant retailer. The lawsuit claims that Damour’s death was caused due to the retailers’ “carelessness, reckless negligence, and wanton disregard for public safety.” The lawsuit also mentions the “gross negligence” of the company in its “staging, conducting and advertising for sales events.” It also names the security company that was responsible for maintaining security at the store, as well as the shopping mall where the terrible incident took place.

On that exceptionally dark Black Friday, Damour had been preparing to open the store for what is generally considered the busiest shopping day of the year. When the doors opened, as video camera footage showed, Damour was thrown to the ground by desperate shoppers. Other shoppers too fell down, and were injured in the stampede. Some reports said that a pregnant woman too had been among the injured, and had to be treated for her injuries, although other reports have refuted this. Wal-Mart is no stranger to injuries that occur during its wild Black Friday shopping galas. The company apparently chooses to settle the personal injury lawsuits arising out of these confidentially, and out of court.

Damour was not an employee of the company at the time of his death, but was an independent contractor. According to an Orange County work accident lawyer, this means that his death does not figure under Workers’ Compensation. His family is entitled to bring a civil wrongful death claim against the company, however.

This is a company that continues to post profits even as the rest of the economy reels under a recession. You would think that the company would have made adequate security arrangements to control shoppers before allowing them inside the store. There are so many ways that the company could have prevented the tragic loss of Damour’s life. It’s not as if they never had warnings. Every year, Black Friday results in a stampede, as shoppers begin to throng to the venue the previous night in order to be at the start of the line. Even with this foresight, Wal-Mart did not think it fit to arrange for extra security or have a graded entry system at the store.

Damour’s family has suffered a terrible personal loss, and is entitled to obtain compensation for their suffering. This man was being a diligent employee, performing his duties and going about his work the way he was supposed to, all for a company that didn’t even see the need to protect him.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of wrongful death. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

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