Why is it Walmart's fault? These people have free will and they chose to act like animals in order to save a few dollars. The people should be prosecuted not Walmart.

I am NOT a Walmart shareholder, but it is so weak to blame Walmart first, then the police, and then only blame the public mob that behaved in this unruly way. This consumer public was a chaotic group of adults. Why the hell did they all have to be sooo greedy and run for it. Stop blaming a company (not just walmart) for keeping these sales. Stupid sheeople could have shower more restaint as adult individuals instead of rushing to buy a cheap $5 toilet cleaner on sale.

Blame the people first, educate them not to run like greedy pigs towards any morsel that is being thrown. Take some personal responsibility. If there is a change at the grassroots in people's mindsets, then the company bottomline will be hurt and they will adjust accordingly.

Walmart is being sued over the negligence of the injured man. But what about the other thousands of people who helped commit the crime of negligence?? Who is going to charge them?

It's like death by christianity. Everybody participates, yet nobody is responsible.

How is this statement "not pointing fingers?"

i work at the store in question you need to get your facts straight it was a terrible accident but you are wrong about what happend

I am extremely saddened for the injuries and especially the lose of life. Yet it makes be sick that no one takes personal responsiblity for their actions. If you gonna sue (wow, yes to get money) sue those that actually "trampled" the sales staff. Personal responsibility from those that arrived and caused the ruckus should be held accountable. Wal Mart with all its faults (as mentioned trhoughout this site) did not make these people show up. I do agree that a review of how the incident occurs should be examined and changes implemented. However, where is the arrest and accountablity for those that cuased the death (no wal mart, but PEOPLE).

Wake up WalMart? Seriously? The people that need to wake up are the irresponsible, greedy and down right disgusting people that were too occupied with their own selfishness that they literally killed to satisfy their own twisted interests.

Black Friday is not a license to forgo civility in the quest for the "ultimate deal". Could Wal-Mart have provided better security? Sure, and they probably will in the future. Could they have foreseen a mob trampling a man to death? I don't think so. Police have said that up until the time the doors were unlocked the crowd had remained orderly, there was not reason to believe the crowd would erupt into violence as soon as the store opened.

These men should be suing every single customer that came through those doors, and you know damn well WalMart would be more than happy to provide the camera footage. Hell, I bet they could make a decent amount off of the 100 or so selfish heathens that went through the doors.

I don't understand? How could the store be held responsible for a bunch of skanks who have no regard for human life or normal human behavior

The incidents on 'Black Friday' are yet another tragic example of how good old fashioned greed permeates the U.S. After plunging the world into aneconomic recession due to failing to regulate the financial systems with regards to private banking we observe that the average U.S. company tries to earn enough money to pay their employees their due wages by announcing sales all over the country. This is not uncommon elsewhere in the world either, but everywhere else it is recognized that the loss of lives or limbs in the frenzy that often occurs is not the store owner's fault, but rather an unfortunate event brought on by the greedy customers themselves, trying to grab the best bargain. That's greed for you! Having the audacity to sue Wall-Mart for not looking after the customers and the queues better just underlines my point. The U.S. greed plunged the world into the financial troubles we are experiencing now, and even consumer driven initiatives like WakeUpWallMart, by gloating over this incident instead of urging customers to behave like adults instead of animals, adds to this. No one forces customers to kill eachother in a queue for a pair of boxers.

It's the customers greed: always!

seems we are always searching for a system solution to adress the failure of individuals to make good decisions. I place accountability on those who would cast a fellow human being to the ground to be trampled in an effort to secure a good deal on a tv. This is a sad commentary on the compassion the general population has for one another. May the horror of this event haunt these particular individuals the rest of their days.

Sure, the people who ran him down were all mindless greedy jerks. Hooray for you all for figuring that out.

Now think for a second. Imagine I invite you and 400 others to a party in my backyard. Imagine I'm offering something great at the party, so that all my guests -- including you -- show up at once and demand to get in. My backyard can only hold about 30 people comfortably, is surrounded by a high fence, and only has one entrance/exit. I've also got a hazard in my yard, like a sinkhole or an abandoned well that isn't marked, fenced, or covered.

Now imagine that as people pack in, they get frustrated and start feeling agitated and maybe a bit claustrophobic. As they jostle back and forth, you get pushed more and more. As everyone gets jostled, they get more and more angry, and start pushing back furiously. Eventually, someone -- you're not sure who -- knocks you into the well, where you are severely injured or killed. The push may have been an accident, or it may have been on purpose -- you didn't see.

After hearing your scream, the people panic and rush the exit at once, trampling several other guests in the process.

SO WHOSE FAULT IS IT?

Is it the fault of all the guests? Would you really expect to collect money from everyone on the guest list? Talk about a frivolous lawsuit! What about those who never showed up, or walked away when they saw the crowd? What about those on the other side of the yard, or who got in early and couldn't get back out? What about the one who curled up in a ball in the corner so as not to get hurt?

Is it the fault of the people who pushed you, or maybe just the one who actually pushed you in the hole? Even if I have grainy security footage of the party, there is no way to prove conclusively which of the hundreds actually pushed you. Should it be your job to sue each and every one of those 400 people in an attempt to determine who it was? Maybe the one who did it didn't even see you. Maybe they were pushed themselves. Maybe you just bounced off him or her. How could you possibly prove it?

In this scenario, I'm the one who knew there was a danger. I knew the yard couldn't hold that many people. I knew there was a dangerous unguarded hazard in the yard. Am I not to blame for creating a situation that a reasonable person would know was likely to lead to someone's injury? Wasn't I the person most able to anticipate the problems and know all the hidden dangers in my yard? Wasn't I the person most able to control the party and make sure it was safe for all my guests?

So too, with WalMart. They knew the place was going to be packed, and that the crowd would rush in. It happens every year. They plan it, they encourage it, they advertise and practically beg for it. Shouldn't they be responsible for whatever results?

Many of you seem to be grasping for simple answers like, "Just sue everyone but WalMart." That may sound simple, but in reality it is anything but simple.

You want a REAL simple answer? Here it is:

Many people, including regular commenters on this blog, are quick to point out that WalMart is on private property and they have a right to do whatever they want on their own property. Well, with that right comes the responsibility to make sure their invited guests are safe. You don't have to invite anyone in, but once you do you have to provide them a safe environment. If that means controlling the entrance, hiring security -- whatever -- those are the costs of doing business. Anything less is negligence.

I agree with most of the other posts. How is it Walmarts fault? It is the greed of John Q. Public that trampled that man. Black Friday was happening before Walmart even became a store. It's just this sites way of trying to put yet another black eye on walmart. It's like anything that's wrong in retail is walmarts fault...........................Bullshit!

Walmart needs to introduce saftey barriers when "Black Friday" and other saving events occur. The Death of Mr Jdimytai Damour is a clear indicator that Walmart should start thinking abour their PEOPLE, not their Profits.
Sam Walton would have cared about the people.

How can many of you stand there and confidently say this is not WM fault? Morons everyone of you. They advertise high demand items for very low prices, with minimal stock. Ok they lure 2,000 people in front of a store that normally is never closed but so they can load these items on the floor they do close for around 5 hrs. Giving time for the crowd to build up, get angry, get antsy, and most of all trying to save a few bucks. They open two sets of doors that are 8ft wide and 1,000 people run in each set. There is a severe bottleneck of people pushing, shoving, tripping, grabbing, or whatever trying to get through. Ok WM should know that when you have that much congestion something is going to give. Hence the the doors gave way, and this poor man lost his life. Wal-Mart has created an atmosphere of anger, anxioty, FEAR, and want. People in a crowd as such do not care but only for themselves, in that kind of situation. But typically any other day when just a regular person walking through the door, does care. Yes sue Wal-Mart for creating a paniced mob, and each and everyone that passed through those doors. The local police cannot be held responsible because they are not for hire! Wal-Mart has no in-store security with weapons or any kind of crowd control. And the "landlord" has no control over WTF wal-mart does. This man should'nt have been anywhere near the door, but because of his size Wal-Mart management thought he might deter the crowd. A 270lb man vs 175,000lb worth of adults. AVG Adult weight 175lbs x 1,000ppl coming through the door. Another stupid move led by a money hungry corporation that doesnt care about impact. "What ever the impact may be" Death, Injury, Global, Mental, Physicall, Financial"

i"m and ex associates due to management discrimation of age I lost my sicktime and personel time due to walmart and i could really use it with christmas and i don't have the money pre

sents and dinner because of what happen to me

I worked for Wal Mart ( Sam's Club) when Sam Walton was still alive. He would be mortified by this incident. He would do the "right thing" for this man's family and he would ensure that nothing like this ever happenned again. Isn't this what we all would want?

It's walmart's and the people who shoped there's falt because, this happened last year too. No one was killed but, the people broke the doors down. Wal-Mart could have controlled the crowes way better and the shopers could have used some commen sence. ( They could have even not shoped at Wal-Mart in the first place!!!) WAKEUP WAL-MART!!!!!!!!

this is just another example of people in America not taking blame for there own actions and then just going after the person who can provide the biggest pay out. I am just appalled...

it's not walmarts fault that the mob crushed that poor man. maybe the mob should've acted like the bunch of adults they are and controlled THEMSELVES!!! wake up walmart? wake up AMERICA and stop blaming others for things they didn't do

I think walmart is great.

If this tragic accedent didn't happen at Wal-mart it probably would have already been forgotten.

OK, so maybe Walmart shouldn't take the whole blame for this. The people who tramples this poor man are, but Walmart should have had additional security that day to deal with the crowds especially on black Friday. Also the people who trampled this man should be very ashamed of themselves for displaying that type of behavior you are adults not young children, and if the police find out who these people are I hope they get what they deserve.This man was killed because people who were in a big hurry to get there big sale items before they were sold out . It makes me sad to see that people act this way.

I have worked for Walmart the past 3 Black Fridays. I am used to it by now. However. I have the bumps and bruises to show for it. My store was never close. The special items were all roped off. Everyone behaved the whole time until the ropes dropped. We didnt see it coming! The problem lies with the Special Deals itself. I felt like i was giving out rice in a third world country. They had no concern for the person next to them. Like I said dont blame anyone except for the sale itself. Just my opinion. Have a good day!!!

Wow those peaple are all the biggest douches. They kept shopping afterword

Its walmarts fault because they should have had sercurity. They had a sign pointing to the door making people more aware of the sales and more eager to run inside. yes other stores have sales, but noone was killed like walmart.

I am reading alot of comments that support walmart and am actually shocked on how employees defend this corporation. Then again, who knows, these pro-walmart statements may just as well be from people paid to speak and write positively about walmart. I worked at walmart, I liked the people I worked with, however, I could not stand to work for a company with so little ethics. Yes, black friday was a tragedy that could have been avoided, there was a serious lapse in judgement by not only the shoppers and the media, but by the police as well. This still does not let the blame fall off Walmarts shoulders, management should know better, any one with a conscience should know better then to allow such large crowds form around the entrance of a store. What if there had been a fire? Are there not fire lanes outside of walmart that were blocked? When I worked for walmart there were countless health and saftey violations, countless times I heard highschool students tell me about how they were told they HAD to work late because it was busy, and countless innapropriate comments made, including to me. I feel ashamed to have worked and bought from a corporation whose soul purpose is to make money, having total disregard for employees helath and saftey. Shame on the shoppers who continued to shop after a man was trampled. Shame on the police for assuming that it was safe to leave a huge crowd unattended. Shame on walmart for allowing a man to die and then remaining open afterwards in the name of money . Its sad world.

I work for a 24 hour supercenter and walmart has put me ,my associates, and customers at risk on blitz day. Dear God it never should have taken a young mans life for walmart to see what they have created.I work in a state that pays poorly and I don't want to get injured for this company, or ony other Yet it seems their sales mean more to them then humans.My heart goes out to the Damour family, It could have been any of us.

Yes it's me again, I have read the comments and it was the croud that ran over Mr. Damour but as a walmart employee it IS Walmarts responsibilty to keep employees out of harms way . They failed in New York, they failed in Florida, they failed in every state. If we could idenitfy every person that took his life, we should and hold them accountable along with Walmart. ultimately it was Walmarts fault

This is my first visit to this site and I just wanted to leave my "2 cents." I have never worked for Wal-Mart and I have not shopped there since Sam was running things. I was not shocked to see that an associate had been killed in a stampede at this place. Wal-Mart always does this at this time of year. They bait people in by running an item at a ridiculously low price and say "Quantities limited." When a person gets there to buy the item they find out that the store only has two on the shelves. If you advertise a product, you should have at least enough to cover for that day. This incident shows you just how far they (WM) is willing to go to get people in their stores. I have heard so many people around my home town say; "I can't go into Wal-Mart without spending at least $100." This is why they do those Door Buster sales. Get people in and nine times out of ten they go on a spending frenzy and WM makes up the difference from selling one item at cost. I am so disgusted because WM is the only place to shop in my area. I drive 20 miles just to go to JC Penney and Kohls to get my clothing. WM has ran everyone else out of town. Their prices here reflect it also. No competition and people will not be able to "Save Money, Live Better!" Everyone will see when they gain sole control of the market. I have found that prices at my local family owned, give back to the community, supermarket are in line with WM here. People should really check around before falling for the lies that they have spread for so long. This is a great discussion board!

Everybody keeps saying that Wal-Mart should have hired security to protect the employees and the customers. The man that got killed was outside security and was not a Wal-Mart employee. I think that some people need to get there facts before they start pointing fingers.

I say YES! Blame Wal Mart because even though the people were to fault and blame, the store COULD have done much better in controling the situation BEFORE IT HAPPENED!

All Wal Marts Everywhere should be CLOSED!

it's not Wal-Mart's fault. However, the fact that they re-opened the store only several hours later, proves that they care more about money than human life. For me, this hit pretty close to home, I live just 20 mins away from the walmart in Valley Stream. What bothers me the most is this man died like a hero and he will not be with us this Christmas, all for a mere $9.00 an hour. Which is bullshit money here in NY. I am a 20 year old college student, and I just want to say that I am utterly appalled that these capitalist are still allowed to uphold this charade. The Walton family could bathe in their money, yet, their lower ranked "Employees" are still left in turmoil in a struggle for survival. Yet again, America has failed to bring justice where it is due. Lest Walmart was done away with. Futhermore, the consumers are entwind with Walmart; is everyone stopped buying their products Walmart would be non-exsistant.

I have read all the comments and here is mine.
People have a way of wanting to blame ALL for EVERYTHING, and this is especially true in the wake of a persons death. It would be very easy to say NOW what should have happened and what would have happened. But how is this incident Walmart's fault? How would anyone have known that a person's death would be a result of trying to save a buck?
Let's say that an armed man went to walmart, and he wanted to save a buck also. And instead of the person being trampled, he was shot to death by this customer. Would that be Walmarts fault? The armed man went to walmart for a deal and was drawn to walmart by their rollback prices, but he killed someone while he was there. His fault or walmarts fault?
This death is not walmarts fault...it is the fault of the customers in their greed and sefishness that brought about this terrible incident. And with everything in America, if you don't know what to do...you sue.

Yes, Yes, people are mindless apes, and taking that as granted, this was an entirely preventable tragedy. Stop with all the pretentious blather and face facts. You people have been writing short stories in an effort to justify what should be obvious to any rational person. This was a large event, and like any large event, there are obvious safety hazards, none of which were respected by store management. "How could anyone have known this would happen...?", are you serious? As if this hasn't happened before? Idiots...

Walmart is a veteran of Black Friday, having been in business for 46 years. Walmart management is and was well aware of how consumers act. They go so far as to encourage such behavior by participating in the Black Friday frenzy.

The mob that actually trampled Mr. Damour bears little responsibility for his death. Once enticed by walmart to be a part of the mob, one has little control over his actions. Anyone who tried to stop to help would likely have been trampled along with Mr. Damour. The masses crowding into the narrow entrance would not have known that there was someone in danger until after they themselves were forced into the entrance.

This could have been prevented. Had walmart not enticed a mob to form outside its doors, Mr. Damour would be alive. Had walmart done a better job of regulating this mass of people, Mr. Damour would be alive.

Had this walmart operated on Black Friday in the same manner as their 24-hour stores (opening black-plastic wrapped pallets of sale goods simultaneously at the official start of black friday) the mob would not have been concentrated on this one entrance.

Walmart had the greatest number of options available to it to prevent this, or similar tragedies. Members of the mob had very few options - if they were even aware of Mr. Damour, the best option they had was to step over him, lest they endanger themselves in the process. Because of this, Walmart bears the greatest culpability in Mr. Damour's death.

What's tragic is the fact that this website, which is funded by a union trying to organize Walmart would exploit this terrible accident.

hi my hosbend,son and his wife all worked at wallmart. my hosbend was hirt on the job walmart figerd out a way around taking responsability for his injere to his back, he is allways in pain when will wm wake up i no longer shop ther and am glade pepole are waking up .lucille

I feel this was a very unfortunate incident, however, people need to realize that bad things happen everyday. Please pick on other companys' as well and see if they have half the precautions and procedures in place like walmart does.

Sam Walton was not a hero...HE created this mess. Sam Walton wanted money just like the rest of his family does now. His family still owns Wal-mart and do you think they care about anyone but their own pockets?! So please don't ever think it would be different now. Lawyers for the company run it...they are the ones making the decisions in hopes to prevent bad publicity...take my word on it.. I know. Nothing is settled or discussed with out involvement from the lawyers.

i am a current employee of walmart they really dont care about their employees .. I am 7 months pregnate and they refused to work with the restrictions that my doctor had set they had me lifting over 50 lbs and the doctor wanted nothing over 20 lbswhich intern forced me out of work 3 months early

Hey! Listen, you guys come onto this website, and complain? What the hell! If you don't like the website why waste your time filling out this dumb little comment section just to complain? You might as well move along and keep your thoughts to yourself, yelling on a forum isn't going to make a difference, actions make a difference, how many of you who took time to post on this forum made an effort to send your condolences to the Damours? Instead of bitching on the internet, do something! Stop being louts, so intwined in your own personal shit to care; however, still taking the time to jump on a band wagon to rag out anyone who's opinion doesn't match yours? Do you think very many people care? I don't, but you are violating a right to free speech, and all you are being are bigots by telling wakeupwalmart.com not to blame walmart. They can blame whoever they want, because the North American continent is free, so suck it...

maybe wake up walmart.com should be held accountable for posting negitive things about Wal-mart just to try and get a union into Wal-mart how is United Food and Commercial Workers International Union any diffrent than walmart they are trying to make a buck pretending they can make a difference by charging every employee to belong to the union and represent them. what if United Food and Commercial Workers International Union had been in walmart at the time the incident took place what excuse would they have and who would they blame be sides I believe the walmart employee was protecting a 8 month pregnant women

Hate to tell those of you who think anything Wal-Mart is evil personified, but this particular Wal-Mart had issues the year prior and DID take steps this year, including calling in extra security, consulting with local and state police for months prior to "Black Friday" and hiring extra workers to staff the store during the busiest day of the year in ANY retailer. I'm still amazed that anyone asks, "Why are they suing Wal-Mart and not the people who really killed this poor man by breaking down the doors and trampling him to death?" The answer is simple - you only sue people who have money to pay you - not always the people who are at fault.

The comment posted by ThaMothership is dead one. Private property == responsibilty == liable for damages.

Any responsible organization would have had security at the front door, allowing only so many people into the facility in a controlled fashion, up to the safe maximum set by the fire code.

Though I would love for the tramplers to be held responsible for their greed infested actions _also_, the real responsibility lies with Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's callous disregard for people, in the name of profit, so the CEO gets the big bonus cheque, is the root cause of our society's ills, in other words, GREED. Every multi-national corp is like this, and it is disgusting.

I would do anything to pay 15% more, to know I can buy something made in North America, and not in a slave labour facility. I know I am going off-topic, but whatever ... Wal-Mart should be renamed "Made In Low Cost Slave Labour Co." It's a vicous circle, big stores put pressure on manufacturers to lower prices, multi-nations want bigger profits, people are too dumb to realize the impacts, stores buy from over seas, economy goes to the trash, plain and simple.

Unfortunately, everything is practically made in China now. I tried to buy a blender, went to three different stores, they're all made in China! Gag me with a spoon. Anyone figure all the pollution going in the environment from shipping all the stuff?!?!?

I digress ...

I work at Walmart, but not for much longer. I would already be gone if I didnt need money so bad. They treat their employees awful. They flip on the white employees if they socialize for 2 seconds, or get a tiny tone with a rude customer. but the black employees stand around talking and dancing and have no customer service skills at all, yet they never get yelled at. I am not racist but all Im saying is, walmart does not care about anyone. Its all about favoritism. And the CSMs are all lazy assholes that need to get off their pedestals and earn the money they make.

Almost everyone that has posted here needs to leave the USA and move to a remote area of Canada and form a Socialist country. The USA is a democracy and is based on a capitalist economy. Walmart has the freedom of choice to market their products. Mr. Damour has the freedom of choice to work at Walmart and to work there on Black Friday. The general public has the freedom of choice to act like a herd of stricken cattle. The constitution guarantees all of us the right to choose where we want to be, when we want to be there, and why we want to be there. Many businesses and many individuals make bad choices. Everyday. Hopefully, as a supposedly intelligent species, we can learn from our bad choices. If you don't like this idea, you should move to a country with a different type of government and economy. Perhaps you think freedom is overrated.

Gloria,

First, we live in a democratic republic, not a democracy, but that's neither here nor there. What is relevant is your claim that the constitution guarantees us the right to choose where to be and when. I am not a lawyer, but as a longtime student of government and politics, I can tell you that the constitution affords no such specific protection. It does, however, specifically protect an individual's right to say whatever they want, which includes criticizing Wal-Mart. So in your screed defending 'freedom' you have suggested that anyone who disagrees with you should move out of the country because somehow they are against freedom. I'm pretty sure that is the opposite of freedom. And, I'm pretty sure that the constitution backs me up on that.

All stores have the responsibility to provide a safe environment for the workers, and the customers. This means that advertisements or signs that include violent words such as, "Blowout", or "Doorbusters" ("Doorbusters" -- can you believe it?) must be eliminated. Think about it -- these phrases have absoultely no place in the marketplace, because these phrases induce customer urgency (which becomes especially dangerous with large crowds)without regard to safety, courtesy, or anything else; except making more money from the cash register ringing the sales.

This place is a joke. All paid for by a union! Yeah that right UFCW workers those union dues you HAVE to pay are paying for this bs. I'm fairly happy with my job at Wal-Mart. They have never really treated me in a bad way. I have been there 7 years and have never thought twice about their Open Door Policy. All I have to say is get a life and quit trying to turn people against Wal-Mart.

Wal Mart really was completely at fault here. But so was the mob. How could you trample and kill a man just to save a few dollers on a cute shirt that you may have seen the day before, or that new tv that they just came out with. I think all wal mart stores around the world should be shut down.
Watch "Walmart- The high cost of low price"

The people who ran over that man should be sent to prison, but Wal-Mart was negligent in not protecting their employees. Surviving riots is not in the job description. It's not like construction workers who know they will be working at heights or other dangers. IF the people that killed that man could be found, I think they would be arrested; that is next to impossible. It doesn't change Wal-Mart's responsibility.

I've worked for Wal-Mart for almost 6 years now, and I can tell you that they don't care about their employees. I've had a slipped disk, numerous concussions, and even a lung collapse on the job. I was told to go home. There are things that make the job fun and exciting yes, but seriously, the company is trying to monopolize the industry. The only reason that I stay is that I have a wife and two children. I can't possibly afford much else. So, you tell me, is this worth it? I've been passed over for promotions 15 times in the last 12 months. Again, worth it? Favoritism seems like Wal-Mart's highest priority. If you've never worked for this company, there is no way you could know the true horror behind it.