SAN ANTONIO – A woman whose back was broken during a Black Thursday shopping frenzy at a local Walmart may soon be filing a lawsuit.
On Friday morning, attorney Marynell Maloney held a press conference to announce the filing of a petition concerning the incident on behalf of the shopper, 31-year-old Tiffaney Stubblefield, who said she was trampled by crowds, knocked into a display and wound up with a broken back as customers at the Walmart at Loop 1604 and Highway 281 scrambled to score marked-down video games.
"Walmart, the largest retailer in the world, lite," Maloney said.
Maloney claimed the store didn't provide adequate protection for customers during the shopping frenzy.
"If they want to engage in that kind of marketing strategy, they should protect people," she said. "We're seeing a very carefully orchestrated strategic marketing plan to whip consumers up in to a frenzy and then when they get into these stores, not protecting them enough."
It hasn't been determined who might be named in the lawsuit. The petition for discovery will help to figure out whose responsible for putting customers in danger.
"First we're trying to investigate who are the responsible parties involved in the security here. There were officers, there were individuals present that were not interceding," said Maloney.
After the discovery process, the next step would be to file the lawsuit. Maloney said she hasn't determined what damages will be sought.