Radio Station Compensation Results in $16 Million Wrongful Death Settlement

A Sacramento, California jury has awarded $16.57 million against Entercom Broadcasting in the case of a Jennifer Strange, who died in January 2007 from drinking too much water to win a Nintendo WII game contest.  The competition was to find the person who could consume the most water without having to go to the bathroom.  However, the problem with the competition is that water poisoning (hyponatremia) can occur when some people drink too much water.

The plaintiffs in the case were the family of the deceased woman.  It was claimed that the radio station was warned about the dangers of water poisoning prior to the contest but went ahead anyway, which was in fact a breach of their own internal rules that prohibit dangerous games.

The radio station was found to be 100% responsible for the death because the deceased woman had no warning about the dangers of drinking too much water.

The deceased had in fact signed a legal waiver of claims for personal injury and courts in California have been generally upholding the validity of such releases.