$16.5 Million Awarded In "Hold You Wee For A Wii" Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Written by Holly Green   
Sunday, 01 November 2009 10:00

As many of you may remember, back in January 2007 28 year old mother of three Jennifer Strange died of acute water intoxication after participating in a contest sponsored by a local radio station.  The contest, dubbed "Hold Your Wee for a Wii," capitalized on the high demand for the console by creating a competition in which participants drank and "held" as much water as they could.  KDND-FM, the Sacramento radio station in question, was warned of the dangers of water intoxication by a caller to the show and the hosts themselves cited a case where a college student died for that very reason during a hazing ritual.  Despite this no preemptive measures were taken (i.e. stopping the contest, having an ambulance or doctor on hand) and six hours after finishing in second place, Jennifer Strange died.  Ten employees were fired in the wake of the incident.

Today, over two years after her death, the jury in the wrongful death suit against the station awarded her family $16.5 million dollars.

Since I'm not sure the exact details of the case, such as whether Ms. Strange had signed a waiver or whether she or other contestants were adequately informed of the dangers, I'm not sure what I think about the damages awarded.  With all necessary respect for the dead, $16.5 mil seems like a lot of money.  Loss of financial security for the surviving children is more than fair, but surely a woman who needed a radio contest to get a Wii didn't have projected earnings sum totalling $16.5 million.

All the same, at least her kids will be taken care of.  It's a sobering reminder that no matter how much we think we can't live without our toys, they certainly aren't worth dying for.

 


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Comments (2)Add Comment
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written by Willberg, November 01, 2009
Summary of the various opinions:

1. It was her own fault! No-one made her do it! Personal responsibility!

2. Don't be so callous, 1. She had a husband and kids, and one caller did warn the station.

3. @2. Just because it was a tragedy doesn't mean that we can ignore personal responsibility, the magnitude of the outcome does not dictate the responsibility. Saying that, I believe the station owners also have a duty to look into all possible side effects of any kind of physical competition. However, I think 16 mil is too much for an honest mistake.

4. @3 That's right, 3 - however American law has the idea "but for the cause", whereby if someone does something and dies of their own free will, an outside party shown to have had even a tiny positive influence in the event can be held liable. Thus the reason for the high judgement.


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Sigh, at least that's what would happen on MY internet. Actually, most sites with this story just have senseless swearing between groups 1 and 2.
The DJs were warned
written by metakid, November 02, 2009
I don't think it was a honest mistake. A nurse actually called in during the show to warn the DJs about the possibility of water intoxication. They mocked her and shoved her comments aside. It was frigging disturbing. Here's a video about that: http://www.newsy.com/videos/sa...tunt_death

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