Family Of Man Trampled By NY Shoppers Sue Wal-Mart

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) – The family of a man who was trampled at a New York Wal-Mart accuses the company of stirring up a shopping frenzy that led the 270-pound worker to be crushed to death.

The 6-foot-5-inch man died of asphyxiation early Friday morning after a crowd stampeded to get into the store for post-Thanksgiving Day bargains.

Nearly 2,000 people had gathered for the store’s 5 a.m. opening, then broke down its electronic doors to get in. At least four other people were treated at hospitals, including a woman who was eight months pregnant.

The worker’s family is suing Wal-Mart and the Long Island mall where the store is located. The suit says Wal-Mart’s ads “created an atmosphere of competition and anxiety” that led to “crowd craze.”

The lawsuit also says Wal-Mart failed to provide adequate security for the pre-dawn opening and was otherwise “careless, reckless and negligent.”

The 34-year-old worker (Jdimytai Damour) had been hired as a temporary employee and had been on the job about a week when he died.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)