San Diego Personal Injury Attorney Blog

A jury in Sacramento returned a $16.2 million verdict last month against Entercom Broadcasting in the water intoxication death of a Rancho Cordova woman following a radio station contest. Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old mother of three, was found dead in her home after competing in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest at KDND "the end" radio station in Sacramento. The object of the contest was to drink as much water as possible without going to the bathroom, to win a Nintendo Wii. Despite a caller calling in and warning DJs that the contest was dangerous and that someone could die, the DJ's joked that the contestants had signed releases and couldn't file a lawsuit. The waivers, however reportedly only addressed publicity issues and did not address health or safety concerns.

Following the contest, Strange drove home and called a co-worker, saying she had an intense headache. The co-worker called Strange's mother, who went to visit her an hour later and found her dead. Strange died of water intoxication, a disturbance of the brain when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body are pushed outside of safety limits by drinking too much water. In healthy adults, water intoxication is extremely rare, and is most commonly associated with fraternity hazing and water drinking contests, although there are exceptions involving long bouts of exercise where excessive amounts of water are consumed but electrolytes are not replenished.