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)
