Radio Station Sued In Water-Drinking Death

(AP)  The radio station disc jockeys who hosted an on-air water-drinking contest knew that consuming too much water too quickly could be fatal, but they dismissed the concerns with jokes, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed Thursday.

Jennifer Lea Strange died Jan. 12, hours after taking part in the promotion to win a Nintendo Wii gaming console.

Strange, 28, was one of about 18 contestants who tried to see how much water they could drink without going to the bathroom in a contest called "Hold your Wee for a Wii."

Radio station KDND-FM fired 10 employees after her death.

The lawsuit filed by Strange's family names as defendants KDND's parent company, Entercom/Sacramento, as well as employees and managers who organized, promoted and participated in the contest.

The lawsuit said the employees did not research the contest or warn participants about the risks and did not get medical help even after participants complained about getting sick.

At one point, a listener who identified herself as a nurse called in to warn the disc jockeys that the stunt could be fatal, according to an audio tape of the broadcast.

"Yeah, we're aware of that," one of them responded.

Another DJ laughed: "Yeah, they signed releases, so we're not responsible. We're OK."

The lawsuit claims that Strange never signed a liability waiver.

The radio station would not comment directly about the lawsuit, Entercom spokesman Charles Sipkins said.

"We reiterate our deepest sympathies and condolences to the Strange family, but we do not comment on pending litigation," he said.

Also Thursday, a spokesman for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said the agency has joined the investigation into Strange's death at the request of attorneys for the family.

"Chairman (Kevin) Martin has asked the enforcement bureau to look into the matter," FCC spokesman Clyde Ensslin said. "He was obviously troubled by the information in the letter."

Contestants said Strange drank up to two gallons of water. She was interviewed several hours into the contest, saying she looked pregnant because her belly was swollen and complaining that her head hurt.

"This is what it feels like when you're drowning," said one of the disc jockeys. "There's a lot of water inside you."

Strange eventually relented and accepted the second-place prize, tickets to a Justin Timberlake concert. Her mother found her dead several hours later at the family's home.

[pscase1119]

This was posted last week following another story. I think this makes a good point, though I am not sure of its legal accuracy.

No liability waiver can stipulate that death can occur. This will be assisting suicide and it is illegal. For example, if you were to have a Russian roulette game even if you warn participants that they may be killed, you'd still be criminally liable.

[pscase1119]

Those who think it was her own fault have got it all wrong. I'm with those who say that they would not have known the dangers, and I would NEVER expect anyone would be allowed to have a contest that would put my life in such certain danger. On another news report, they had a clip from the show, and the female DJ jokes, "Maybe we should have researched this better." They had some information and clearly did not think the entire matter through well enough.

[themooniac]

Sue em' for everything they got. I hope they get zillions....

[linfinster]

Susan makes some very good points. I don't think they knew going in that they would have to consume that much water, and while on air for ratings the jockey's goaded .. it's just sickening. We are dumbed down. Sheep to the slaughter. It's not that I don't hold her partially responsible, but it's a little hard to chastise her since her penalty was death. Those people involved should be held responsible.

[susanhelit]

Common sense would say, no harm to drinking some water. And I've had to 'hold it' plenty of times before with no trouble (nor was that the problem - the quantity of water drunk was the problem).

The person who called in and said they were a nurse - did you overlook the fact that they were RIGHT? And the station employees could easily find that out with a quick internet search. They joked around about killing the contestants! They knew - they were told. The contestants did not know.

BTW: The contestants were not allowed to hear that phone call from the nurse. They kept giving them more water after hearing from the nurse, and joking around about how it was OK if the contestants died because they signed waivers. Just read the story (I think it's linked to this one?). When the contestant said she felt sick, they ridiculed her, rather than calling a doctor.

[nothappyatall]

Common sense intn1? this is part of the dumbing-down of Americans where people need to be protected from themselves and their LACK of common sense.

[nothappyatall]

"At one point, a listener who identified herself as a nurse called in to warn the disc jockeys that the stunt could be fatal,"

Just because someone called and CLAIMED they were a nurse doesn't make it fact.

[intn1]

to junogoose

It's quite possible that the radio station is to blame too. But on the other hand, why didn't she take responsibility and think about her own health? And while yes, Susan, nobody ever thinks that water could be dangerous because it's such a vital substance, didn't an alarm ring in anybody's head when they were told they had to drink alot of water and NOT use the bathroom? That must have hurt. I honestly have alot of questions about this story. Were participants told they had to consume a certain ammount of water or just that they had to drink some water and not be allowed to use the restroom? How much water did the other contestants drink? What exactly did the liability waiver say? When did this nurse call in, was it before or after the woman went home? Why exactly didn't she sign a waiver before drinking all the water?

[susanhelit]

No reason to believe water is dangerous - what is more harmless than water? The station should have checked (none of these people would have been drinking like this without the contest), and after they were told, they should have taken action.

The contest is billed as "holding your wee for a wii" - not as a water drinking contest, so the contestants had no reason to go researching what would happen if you drink too much water.

I still say a murder charge is justified - low level, depraved indifference sounds about right, but still murder.

[rudy654-2009]

It's a contest, right? Who can outdo the rest, right? Is there a warning that too much water is dangerous? No. But somebody wants to win and is determined to win. That's the problem with this kind of contest. Apparently neither the sponsors nor the contestants knew any better. And people should know that even marathon runners have died from drinking too much water. So yes, there is a lot of ignorance out there about this danger.