OSHA cites Wal-Mart in trampling death

Newsday

MELVILLE, N.Y. — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management in the case of a worker who was trampled and died as a Valley Stream, N.Y., store kicked off the holiday shopping season last year.

The federal agency, which is under the U.S. Department of Labor, said in a news release that its inspection “found that the store’s employees were exposed to being crushed by the crowd due to the store’s failure to implement reasonable and effective crowd management principles.”

The agency also said the store did not equip employees with the training and tools needed to manage the large crowd of about 2,000 shoppers that surged into the store on Nov. 28, 2008. On that day, Jdimytai Damour, a seasonal worker, was knocked to the ground and trampled to death by a crowd waiting to enter the store and take advantage of its Black Friday sales.

The citation carries a fine of $7,000.