Family gets $16m for Wii contest fatality
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The family of a woman who died after taking part in a water-drinking competition for a games console has been awarded $16m (£9.7m) in compensation from a US radio station that organised the contest.
Jennifer Strange, a mother of three from the California town of Rancho Cordova, took part in the "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" event in 2007, drinking two gallons of water in a matter of hours and resisting going to the toilet in an attempt to win the console for her children.
A Sacramento jury, told that Ms Strange died of acute water intoxication, agreed that the radio station, KDND-FM, had been negligent, ignoring several warnings that the game could have fatal consequences. The radio station, which fired 10 staff after the incident, argued that contestants should have understood the risks.
Soon after finishing second in the game, Ms Strange rushed to vomit and complained of a bad headache before heading home.
The Strange family lawyers played recordings of DJs making fun of sick contestants, despite one on-air host mentioning that a college student had died during a similar initiation ritual two years previously.
The radio station's parent company, Entercom, said it would respect the jury's decision.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments