Family of "Wee for Wii" Victim Awarded $16m

The family of Jennifer Strange, who died of water poisoning after drinking large quantities of water without going to the bathroom in order to win a Nintendo Wii, has been awarded $16 million in compensation for her death.

In 2007, Sacramento radio station KDND-FM held a contest called "Hold Your Wee For a Wii," in which contestants were asked to see how long they could go without urinating while drinking constant water, and the winner would receive a then-hard-to-find Nintendo Wii. 28-year-old Jennifer Strange, mother of three, entered the contest in an attempt to win the console for her children.

After drinking two gallons (7.5 liters) of water, Strange placed second in the competition. She went home from work early complaining about a headache, and was later found dead in her home, a death that was attributed to water intoxication.

Though no criminal charges were filed, the radio station fired ten employees in the fallout, and will now have to pay the family of Ms. Strange $16m in a wrongful death suit, reports GamePolitics. This was less than the $34m sought by the Strange family, which may be attributed to the defense used by the lawyers representing the station, who argued that Strange's death was partly due to her own 'contributory negligence.'

(Sky News)

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WOw that is...idk whether to blame the mother for being so stupid over a pathetic excuse for a console or the people who held the contest.

so the family gets a big payday because of her stupidity. how wonderful.

SantoUno:
WOw that is...idk whether to blame the mother for being so stupid over a pathetic excuse for a console or the people who held the contest.

I'm pretty sure that NOBODY involved in this case came off looking clever.

While the people who held the contest should've done some fucking research, anyone who entered the contest couldn't have been the sharpest knife in the drawer either. They're all morons!

Should've diluted the water with beer.

SantoUno:
WOw that is...idk whether to blame the mother for being so stupid over a pathetic excuse for a console or the people who held the contest.

Both. and then whoever is putting a price on human lives aswell. makes us all look like money grabbing assholes. which most of us are. if they're not Space Assholes.

Edit: Don't get me wrong, I feel regret over the death of a mother of three. And the surviving members will have to grow up in an emptier family.

Wow, my heart goes out to the family.
What a stupid contest.
Couldent they have thought of anything better?
Something like this is really dangerous.

this brings a new definition to the expression "I would die for that"

O.o well erm... Rather unfair isnt it they didnt make her do it.

Pfft....what an idiot.

and the family tries to pull money out of it too greedy bastards.

There are easier ways to get a Wii, like waiting a few months, calling the store you want to buy the Wii from.

I can understand why she would do this, a small contest for a Wii, but seriously, they could have figured out a better way to give one away than a water drinking contest.

god bless america and no place else, cuz he seems to have forgotten that continent.

Marq:
Should've diluted the water with beer.

Or Brawndo. (Thank Yahtzee for watching this in the office and reminding us about our ELECTROLYTES)

Water... Poisoning? What is that and how does someone go about getting it?

As much as it does suck for the family's loss, I see in no way how the radio station is responsible for that incident. It's just like those "win a car by being the last to touch it" contests. Would the radio be liable for two contestants who sat there and died while trying to win the car? Obviously the law says yes, but that is bullshit. If you can't do it and stay alive, then just gracefully lose. If you find yourself pushing yourself beyond your limits, and overriding your natural sense of preservation, then you don't deserve to live.

this was stupid when it was announced, tho i'm not quite sure she's 28, it looks like she's been 28 for a few years already

kinda ridiculous that you can sue for that much money in the states

I guess you could say she...pissed away her life? Or that it's funny how fast can go...down the crapper?

Yeah, I'm done with that. Plus, Brawndo sucks. Real people drink POWERTHIRST!! Now in Manana, Fizzbitch, Gun, Juice Springsteen, Godberry, Shockolate and Rawberry! In addition to making you win at Bear Blasting and Hump-Catting, two sports you'll invent because you'll be TOO ENERGETIC FOR NORMAL SPORTS!!!, Powerthirst is garunteed at making you win at running, football, arson, weddings, art and irony! Top score!

lwm3398:
Water... Poisoning? What is that and how does someone go about getting it?

By drinking too much water. Your cells will try to take in the fresh water to equalize the molarity of a certain substance inside to cells to the surrounding environment. This causes your cells to take in too much water for them to hold, causing them to lyse, or burst.

Kross:

Marq:
Should've diluted the water with beer.

Or Brawndo. (Thank Yahtzee for watching this in the office and reminding us about our ELECTROLYTES)

That was interesting ad. Oh and both sides are at fault because the mother isn't careful and the people who hosted this event.

Why the fuck didn't the station have a waver saying "We are not responsible for any bodily harm that may or may not happen from this contest" so they could cover their ass in case something like this happened? Now because of that a woman is dead (Although I don't feel much pity for her) and ten people are out of a job. Idiots on both sides.

I want to blame the mother, but she probably didn't think she would die from it. I'll just go with blaming the people that hosted the show because they at least should have known the risks involved.

Radio stations need to stop underestimating the power of materialism. They seem to constantly be in the news for contests that didn't go as planned.

SantoUno:
WOw that is...idk whether to blame the mother for being so stupid over a pathetic excuse for a console or the people who held the contest.

Blame the radio hosts. They got a call from a nurse warning them about the dangers of this contest and still held it anyways.

Heart of Darkness:

lwm3398:
Water... Poisoning? What is that and how does someone go about getting it?

By drinking too much water. Your cells will try to take in the fresh water to equalize the molarity of a certain substance inside to cells to the surrounding environment. This causes your cells to take in too much water for them to hold, causing them to lyse, or burst.

So, basically, water causes you to explode.

...

Why don't suicide bombers just drink a lot and then run in to a building?

A ridiculous competition and a sad loss, both parties are to blame, although the Radio station more so if they did not give any warnings as to the consequences of participating but that being said this competition should never have been authorized.

Something that should be noted is that a lot of people are not aware that you can get water poisoning.

The family does not deserve any money. In no way is it the fault of the radio station, the woman was 28 and had 3 kids, she was a grown adult and made a grown decision.

Fuck frivolious lawsuits.

ginty2:
so the family gets a big payday because of her stupidity. how wonderful.

They also get a dead mother. How wonderful.

Think before you post.

It is hard to put a price tag on something intangible like the love people share between each other. Moments that will be missing from the remaining family members lives due to her death. It was tragic, and maybe she could have just given up and peed, but really any of you ever actually been over hydrated, you wouldn't really realized it until to late.

The radio station needs to accept its part of this. And they will to the tune of $16 million. The employees did at the cost of their jobs.

Lvl 64 Klutz:
Radio stations need to stop underestimating the power of materialism. They seem to constantly be in the news for contests that didn't go as planned.

You are right. The one I never through should have gone to court was the practical joke one where they led on that they where giving away a hummer. Only to have the winner show up to claim a radio controlled toy. Should have just been a "haha, you got me, I guess I will give this to my son," moment. Not a sue the radio station for damages and money to go buy a hummer.

Edit: Seems a large number of people think this was totally the fault of the Mother making bad decisions. I have to ask how many of you thinking that actually knew you could die from drinking to much water before you heard about this.

lwm3398:

Heart of Darkness:

lwm3398:
Water... Poisoning? What is that and how does someone go about getting it?

By drinking too much water. Your cells will try to take in the fresh water to equalize the molarity of a certain substance inside to cells to the surrounding environment. This causes your cells to take in too much water for them to hold, causing them to lyse, or burst.

So, basically, water causes you to explode.

...

Why don't suicide bombers just drink a lot and then run in to a building?

Not quite. Your cells burst, but your body won't. Your body just gets sick and dies.

I still wonder why we don't have spontaneously combusting suicide bombers yet. That would be very exciting and dangerous.

hey, look at that, they can get the wii!

Heart of Darkness:

Not quite. Your cells burst, but your body won't. Your body just gets sick and dies.

I still wonder why we don't have spontaneously combusting suicide bombers yet. That would be very exciting and dangerous.

What I just put there was a little something known as sarcasm.

I knew you wouldn't 'Explode', but the whole bursting thing just gave me the idea.

And why don't they just combust?

manaman:

ginty2:
so the family gets a big payday because of her stupidity. how wonderful.

They also get a dead mother. How wonderful.

Think before you post.

It is hard to put a price tag on something intangible like the love people share between each other. Moments that will be missing from the remaining family members lives due to her death. It was tragic, and maybe she could have just given up and peed, but really any of you ever actually been over hydrated, you wouldn't really realized it until to late.

The radio station needs to accept its part of this. And they will to the tune of $16 million. The employees did at the cost of their jobs.

Seems a large number of people think this was totally the fault of the Mother making bad decisions. I have to ask how many of you thinking that actually knew you could die from drinking to much water before you heard about this.

Yeah, and nothing replaces the loss of a loved one like millions and millions of dollars. And even if you had never heard of water poisoning(I have btw), any person with a brain would know that too much of anything(including water, it's called drowning) is bad for your body.

No, it is entirely the mother's fault. In no way is the radio station responsible for her death. I have no sympathy for people doing dumb things that get them or others killed due to their negligence and lack of critical thinking skills. Usually it has to do with parents who let their kids do dumb things and the kid dies, but this is just as retarded.

And the winner survives HOW?

Most people don't know you can die from drinking too much water. It seems counter-intuitive. At worse, I suspect most would assume risk to the kidneys from holding it in for too long. That too can be a big, fatal problem if kidney failure were to occur, but I sincerely doubt your average person would be worried about dying from cells bursting.

Ignorance, yes, but it's an obscure fact until something like this draws attention to it, and by then someone has already died.

Sevre90210:
And the winner survives HOW?

Different body, different consequences. They may have been bigger, started out more dehydrated... any number of x factors could explain why this woman died and the others lived.