Woman Dies After Water Drinking Contest

[Polly Parrot]

How very stupid and irresponsible of the radio station, they should be sued at the least...

[CAFC Nick]

A waiver is a legal document, it's no longer the radio stations fault once the contestant signs a waiver for it.

[Walk]

Waivers are tricky business. You can't sign away basic rights sometimes. They're not always binding. I would have to talk to my uncle if I wanted a 2+ hour long lecture about this sort of thing. It's always nice having a lawyer in the family.

[Mama Kin]

Remember personal responsibility? I don't. Though I've heard of it. I came into the world in a time when we got rid of it. Though I do recall reading of it in books.

Sue the station? Fuck that. Sue the educational system for handing dipolmas like free samples of Tide.

[Vicious Wishes]

Police Probe Death After Radio Contest
By JULIET WILLIAMS
AP
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Jan. 18) - As participants in KDND-FM's water-drinking contest chugged bottle after bottle, a listener called in to warn the disc jockeys that the stunt could be fatal.
"Yeah, we're aware of that," one of them responded.

Another DJ said with a laugh: "Yeah, they signed releases, so we're not responsible. We're OK."

Those comments, and others made during the Jan. 12 "Morning Rave" radio show, appeared to give little regard to the risk of water intoxication. But just hours after the contest, a woman who guzzled nearly two gallons was dead.

On Wednesday, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department launched a criminal investigation into the incident, and attorneys for the family of Jennifer Lea Strange said they plan to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the radio station.

The county coroner said preliminary autopsy findings indicate Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three, died of water intoxication.
Authorities decided to pursue the investigation after listening to a tape of the show, obtained by The Sacramento Bee, during which DJs joked about the possible dangers of consuming too much water, sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran said. At one point, the DJs even alluded to a college student who died during a similar stunt in 2005.

Strange was one of about 18 contestants who tried to win a Nintendo Wii gaming console by determining how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom.

Several hours into the contest, Strange was interviewed on the air and complained that her head hurt.

"They keep telling me that it's the water. That it will tell my head to hurt and then it will make me puke," she said.
Eventually, Strange gave in and accepted the second-place prize: tickets to a Justin Timberlake  concert. She commented that she looked pregnant, and a female DJ agreed.

"Oh, my gosh, look at that belly. That's full of water. ... Come on over, Jennifer, you OK?" a male DJ asked. "You going to pass out right now? Too much water?"
Several hours later, Strange was found dead in her home.

On Tuesday, KDND's parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, fired 10 employees connected to the contest, including three morning disc jockeys. The company also took the morning show off the air.

Station spokesman Charles Sipkins said Wednesday the company had not yet heard from the sheriff's department but that it would cooperate with the investigation

[zman]

The family's attorney is saying that they might name Nintendo and Justin Timberlake on the lawsuit. That's just ridiculous.

They are going to see if Nintendo & Justin Timberlakes management had any knowledge of this contest. And if they did then they would sue.

[Natasha23]

If the radio station was aware of the danger, they are absolutely responsible.  That doesn't mean the woman did a stupid thing, but her stupidity doesn't mitigate the station's responsibility.  I don't think you can stand behind a waiver when your actions are criminally negligent, which it sounds like they were, if they knew their contest could result in the death of somebody. 
And regarding personal responsibility, the woman's already paid with her life.  Not everyone is aware of water intoxication.  I'd be surprised if she was actually told at the time that what she was doing could be fatal.  She obviously didn't know. 

[Jim]

How could the radio station organise something so irresponsible - i hope they get sued

Come on.  If Kobayashi's stomach exploded...

Oh try and stay on topic please, what with the court case and all there will be 'em everywhere, but what does the lawyer from The Usual Suspects have to do with anything?

[Mama Kin]

If the radio station was aware of the danger, they are absolutely responsible.? That doesn't mean the woman did a stupid thing, but her stupidity doesn't mitigate the station's responsibility.? I don't think you can stand behind a waiver when your actions are criminally negligent, which it sounds like they were, if they knew their contest could result in the death of somebody.?
And regarding personal responsibility, the woman's already paid with her life.? Not everyone is aware of water intoxication.? I'd be surprised if she was actually told at the time that what she was doing could be fatal.? She obviously didn't know.?

Ignorance isn't a lottery ticket.

Of course her family will win money, these days death is the loss of a loved one and your ticket to riches.