Hold your wee for a wii

[BookstoreEscapee]

I just saw on the news where they were told by a nurse that this was a very dangerous stunt that could result in deaths. Their reaction was "Well, they sign wavers, so so what?"

As stupid as it is, people trust what they see on tv or hear on the radio. They especially trust DJ's. Some people don't realize that it might be a bad idea, even if their favorite DJ says to do it. They figure "Oh, it must be okay. I heard so and so on the radio say it."

Yes, it's amazingly stupid. But people do it, and the radio station ought to know this. They have a certain amount of responsibility in this.

I doubt the waiver said anything about the possibility that this particular stunt could cause death. It was probably just a standard "we cannot be held responsible" waiver that they use for any kind of company-sponsored activity.

Most average people probably don't even realize that you can overdose on water. It's kind of hard to do and it's probably more likely in someone like an endurance athlete (I've read stories of marathon runners who overdo it at the water stations) or someone working in hot weather, who are drinking a lot of plain water and not much else. Legally, signing a waiver may get the station off the hook, but morally speaking at least, I don't think it flies.

-ams-

[Banrion]

First of all there is the fact of the scarcity of the Wii. We all know that there is precious little some people will do to get thier hands on one. I for one am using the "Wait till my tax refund hits the bank and then buy one when they're not scarce anymore" ploy. The radio station used the fervor about the damn things in order to get people to come out and do the public display that amounts to cheap advertising for them. One $250 Wii is cheaper than other forms of self promotion.

So you are saying it is OK for someone to take absolutely NO personal responsibility for their own health and safety, just because some has something they want. THAT is the reason the US is sue happy. Just because you are willing to do something ridiculously stupid and dangerous because someone tells you to, doesn't mean you SHOULD. I'm sorry but ignorance is no excuse! I have heard and seen this type of contest done numerous times on numerous other stations, and NO ONE DIED. You know why, because people started to feel ill. It's not like all of a sudden you just drop dead from drinking too much water. There are several precursor symptoms of your body telling you to stop.

Hyponatremia symptoms

(1) Nausea and vomiting

(2) Disorientation

(3) Lack of coordination

(4) Headaches

(5) Dizziness

You ignore those signs it your own fault.

Hell if they can sue for a burglar who broke into your house, tripped and broke a leg and win...this would be a piece of cake for them.
Mongo

Unless you can cite a case. This is complete urban legend.
http://www.stellaawards.com/bogus.html
http://www.snopes.com/legal/lawsuits.asp

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I'm sorry, I don't see how the radio station is responsible. No one was forced to do anything against their will. Obviously, no one else died, because they were smart enough to know when to quit. Holding the radio station and the DJ's that ran this contest responsible is like holding McDonald's responsible for the obesity epidemic.

I hold the radio station at least partially responsible because they encouraged people to do something life-threatening just to get a Nintendo Wii. I had heard of people OD'ing on water before this, and common sense should dictate that too much of something is not good for you.

The victim is also responsible for ignoring the signals her body sent her. What do you think her children would rather have: the Wii or their mom?

However, the victim is dead and you have a radio station owned by a conglomerate with millions of dollars in assets, so of course there's going to be a lawsuit. At the very least, Entercomm (the radio station's owner) is probably going to write a check to settle this out of court.

Not saying that the radio station is completely at fault, because they aren't. There are people who think that, though, and they occasionally get on juries.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

My point here is not that the woman is blameless, but that there is enough ambulance chaser-class lawyers out there who would cream their jeans at the chance to try this case and that the points that I made are the same ones that the lawyers would attempt to make.

Frankly I feel that the woman was pretty stupid to even attempt to win a Wii by risking her health, but right now there are people stupid enough to do damn near anything for these stupid console games and that the station knew it.

Yeah, they didn't put the gun in her hand...but in a sense, they did put it on the table and say "Put it to your head and I'll give you a Wii."

Mongo

[BunnyJas]

So you are saying it is OK for someone to take absolutely NO personal responsibility for their own health and safety, just because some has something they want. THAT is the reason the US is sue happy. Just because you are willing to do something ridiculously stupid and dangerous because someone tells you to, doesn't mean you SHOULD. I'm sorry but ignorance is no excuse! I have heard and seen this type of contest done numerous times on numerous other stations, and NO ONE DIED. You know why, because people started to feel ill. It's not like all of a sudden you just drop dead from drinking too much water. There are several precursor symptoms of your body telling you to stop.

I'm a big fan of personal responsiblity and agree that the courts are filled with frivolous lawsuits. But in this case I believe the radio station DOES bear some responsiblity. The average person does not know about water intoxication, let alone the symptoms. This stunt was completely irresponsible since the dangers were NOT specified and they did not even consult a doctor about the risks.

Obviously the DJ's did not know what the signs for water intoxication were. I was watching Larry King last night and they played some of the radio show on there. On air the woman was complaining about dizziness and headaches. Instead of encouraging her to stop drinking water and quit the contest, the DJ's LAUGHED and poked fun at her bloated stomach (they said it looked like she was 3 months pregnant). This was when I really lost any sympathy I had with the station. To me, this is clearly neglect on the station's part. They should have called 911 or taken her to the ER immediately.

Frankly I feel that the woman was pretty stupid to even attempt to win a Wii by risking her health, but right now there are people stupid enough to do damn near anything for these stupid console games and that the station knew it.

Couldn't have said it better myself, Mongo.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Exactly. I'm all about personal responsibility, but at some point, when you incite someone to do something you know is dangerous, you have to assume some responsibility for what happens next.

I mean, come on. These people were told my medical professionals about the risks, and they said they didn't care. That's pretty much where my sympathy for them goes out the window.

What if this woman had never heard of water intoxication? I'd never heard of it until I had a child (and read that it was dangerous to give a baby a lot of water). In fact, only recently have I learned it can happen to adults. My husband didn't know about it until this incident put it into the news. And I think I can consider us reasonably educated people.

Did the waivers say "water intoxication can lead to death?" It's people's personal choice to smoke, too, but the law says you have to label packs of smokes with warnings about consequences. What if the woman was maybe learning disabled? What if she couldn't read the waiver? I'm just throwing these out there as what-ifs. Would the station had stopped her then, and not allowed her participation out of fear for her safety? I seriously doubt it.

There's legal precedent here as well. People have sued cigarette companies for their cancers and whatnot. Charles Manson sits in prison, and yet he never killed a single person. No, he INCITED others to do it for him. Some years back, a KKK guy was charged and convicted of inciting a couple of underlings to kill someone. If you are in a position of power over people, and what you tell them to do caused harm, the law considers you responsible.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Okay, I just saw this. Check this out:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070117/...adio_death1_dc

Note the part where the DJ's were joking around about the water intoxication deaths they'd heard off. JOKING.

I'd say they're pretty much boned.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

One of the DJs even admitted they maybe should have done some research before the contest.

Ya think?

One female caller, who identified herself as Eva, also phoned in to warn the radio station that drinking too much water can kill.

That station is so boned.

M

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Aaaaaannnnd....here's the lawsuit:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070119/..._radiodeath_dc

[Ringtail Z28]

There's so many funnier and safer ways that the DJ could've done this contest. If I was the DJ, I would've made the contest "Wee for a Wii." Where the last person to take off there pants wins, holding it is only optional and not quite as funny.