Black Friday Sales and Deals Can Cause Accidents and Injuries

Black Friday has become just as much of a holiday tradition as Thanksgiving dinner. The Friday after Thanksgiving has become the day where holiday shoppers wake up early, get in line early and risk their lives in hopes of finding the best deals on electronics; large screen, plasma or LCD TV’s; computers; laptops; notebooks; iPads; Kindle’s; toys; video games; and whatever else they can find on sale. What many Black Friday shoppers do not know is that those slashed prices, unbelievable sales, and one-day-only deals can lead to serious injuries or even death.

Each year, we hear on the news of Black Friday crowds that cause stampedes just to save a few dollars on an item. To some, the savings of a hundred dollars on an item wound up costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical bills. Black Friday sales cause fights, items falling from shelves, products being thrown in the air, fights, shootings and shoppers being run over with full shopping carts. One Black Friday injury victim described the day as, “America’s Running of the Bulls,” except, instead of goring, the damage comes from being knocked down on a store floor, and trampled on by hundreds of “bulls.”

Black Friday sales bring Black Friday crowds. Black Friday crowds bring Black Friday injuries. Many holiday shoppers who are out shopping on Black Friday have suffered head injuries, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, crush injuries, paraplegia, quadriplegia, damage to internal organs, internal bleeding, hemorrhage, fractures, and even death.

Black Friday injuries have become so common that the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has come out with guidance encouraging retailers to take measures to protect their workers during Black Friday madness. Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing their workers with safe and healthy workplaces. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) encourages employers to adopt effective safety and health management systems to identify and eliminate work-related hazards, including those caused by large crowds at retail sales events.

I just do not understand it. While many high ranking City officials and law enforcement officers all over the United States are working overtime to try and stop flash mobs that are planning attacks and gatherings via social media sites like You-tube or Facebook, retailers can still freely advertise, encourage or welcome flash mobs. Just to play it safe, I think I will wait until Cyber Monday to do my shopping and just risk getting carpal tunnel syndrome from my computer.

If you or a family member has been injured on Black Friday or injured in a flash mob incident, please feel free to contact one of our personal injury lawyers in Philadelphia at the Beasley Firm. Call for a strictly confidential and free consultation.