The Thanksgiving Holiday: Be Safe on Black Friday

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday for families and a time for giving thanks. By the same token, it signals the beginning of the Christmas season, a tradition of giving, with many stores now opening on Thanksgiving Day, at midnight or in the early hours of the morning. Some stores offer fantastic deals to save on gifts.

Ironically, the ugly side of commercialism has also reared its head on Black Friday with shopping deals turning into shopping frenzies. Shoppers competing for limited supplies of merchandise have literally stampeded the stores. People still remember 2008 when the 34-year old employee at a Long Island Walmart store died as a result of a mob rush (New York Daily News).

Shoppers have also been hit by a cars in parking lots, gotten into fights with employees over merchandise, sent injured children to the hospital and fallen asleep at the wheel when driving home, according to the website Black Friday Death Count.

Your safety is more important than any sales item you could ever buy. CNET provides some interesting facts about Black Friday shopping that may encourage you to avoid stores and shop online instead. Here are a few:

• Many stores offer the same sales online. Large stores promote what sales you can buy online or in the store and many have free shipping with purchases over a certain monetary amount.
• Sales go on for days. Many sales last beyond Black Friday. In addition to Black Friday, there is Cyber Monday now too.
• Better deals online. Some computer manufacturers offer better online deals than what the retail stores are offering.

Take precautions on Black Friday. Our Long Island attorneys at Palermo Touhy Bruno wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday weekend.