Should a New York Wal-Mart store have had a crowd control plan in 2008 that may have prevented an employee being trampled to death by shoppers during the store’s annual “Blitz Friday?” OSHA cited the store for this fatality, and although there is no specific OSHA regulation for crowd control plans, the agency held that it was Wal-Mart’s “general duty” to have exercised such a plan. Earlier this year an administrative law judge ruled in OSHA’s favor.
In the absence of specific requirements, authorities may rule that “standard of care” was not exercised by a responsible party to prevent harm.