The family of a woman who died after taking part in a water-drinking competition has been awarded $16m (£9.7m) in compensation. Mother-of-three Jennifer Strange, 28, entered the California radio station contest to win a Nintendo Wii games console. In the event - dubbed "Hold Your Wee For a Wii" - contestants had to drink a 250ml bottle of water every 15 minutes without urinating.After eight rounds, contestants were given half-litre bottles.Mrs Strange is believed to have downed nearly two gallons (7.5 litres) of fluid in the hope of winning the prize for her children.She then left work early complaining of headaches, and was found dead later.A post-mortem found she had died of water intoxication. No criminal charges were filed in the case, but the woman's family sued Sacramento radio station KDND-FM for more than $34m.After deliberating for two weeks, a jury awarded her husband and three children just less than half that amount.Lawyers for the station argued that her death was unforeseeable, and her "contributory negligence" led in part to her death.Ten of the radio station's employees were reportedly sacked after the event.Experts say water intoxication can occur when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is altered by a rapid intake of water. This can eventually cause the brain to swell, stopping it regulating vital functions such as breathing.
$16M, holy shit -_-, Well in a sense, most insurance would pay around 1-2 M if some dies from an accident or something right?... Not to clear on those... But yea, I have a feeling the money might not be properly spent but w/e
No, like the article stated, it's called water intoxication (aka hyponatremia), where your body's fluid and electrolyte concentration become unbalanced (in this case, too dilute). You can either drink too much water (where it is absorbed from your gut into your bloodstream), or get too much water directly infused into your bloodstream by an intravenous solution, either of which can be deadly. Link Drowning is when you're submerged or have your airways filled with liquid and you cannot breath (suffocation or asphyxia). The article above doesn't state that during the contest, a nurse actually called the program and warned them of exactly that, but was laughed at by the staff members: $16 million award in CA “Wee for Wii” water intoxication death Audio from program where staffers actually joke about water poisoning and death: Another Link
There was a similar case not long ago where a kid was killed for participating in the frat initiation week - hazing by downing gallons of water. People should really read, listen, or watch the news and be well informed if you're not the educated type. Personally, I don't think the judgment can ever make up for the lost mother. You can't put a tag on a human life. Outsiders may see that's a lot of money but seriously, if she was your mother or whatever, do you feel the same about the money? I doubt it.
