Family of "Wee for Wii" Victim Awarded $16m

[JoeBloggs]

All those calling the mother stupid: How was she to know drinking too much water can kill you? I didn't know- a lot of people commenting here obviously didn't either. When I drink a lot of water I don't start thinking "Woah, slow down, I'm going to kill myself" (Allthough that might change now...) She didn't specicifically HAVE to do the contest, but the if the radio station's specifically encouraging people to do something that will kill you, they should take SOME responsibility. Maybe not $16 million worth, but some.

 

[theultimateend]

Basically nobody in the US knows (or knew) that drinking too much water would make you do anything but piss yourself.

This was a case of an accident because in the US we don't get nearly enough health education. The mother was an idiot for continuing once she started feeling bad. If I dangle my nuts over a heating pad I'll start to feel unease, I would immediately stop. I don't think "well in 10 minutes I'll win pancakes for life" I just know I feel bad.

But that's neither here nor there. Frankly this was ridiculous. It sucks that someone died but frankly they shouldn't have had to pay. This was just a sad event that should have been a lesson to the world (read: US) about the dangers of consuming large quantities of water without urination (or if you can manage it, even with urination).

Unless it is suddenly cool to sue an eating contest because your stomach tears from eating too much.

I remember hearing about this when it happened and wondering whether the family was compensated for it. Guess thats something although they'd probably prefer their mum back.
On the subject of blaming the death on her 'stupidity', I find it totally understandable for an average person to not know about water intoxication. I have less sympathy for the radio show people holding a contest without doing any research on what could happen, especially when someone rang in and warned them about the risks.

If you wanted to have a competition where people dance around cotton candy would you do a bunch of research to see if it would kill them?

This stunt (when I originally heard of it) just sounded like it would end with some people pissing themselves. It doesn't sound dangerous at all.

Water poisoning? Really? Well, you learn something new every day. Huh, odd thing to happen...

I don't get how people can say that the woman was stupid, the worst thing I would think of drinking a gallon or 2 or water would be that you would have to go to the bathroom for a VERY long time.

now, what's the point of urinating?

expelling waste from the body.

now what happens if those toxins and wastes stay in your body?

I knew that before I even took an elementary school science class.

What happens when you drink water?

You have to take a piss.

What happens when you drink a lot of water?

You have to take a piss even more.

That's really just inductive reasoning.

While I knew of something like over-hydrating or whatever, mostly harmless common sense dictates that if you drink a lot of water, you just have to go to the bathroom more often. Hell, I'm sure kids drink a gallon of soda a day, nothing really happens to them. Hell, all these health people and stuff always tell you to drink more water, keep yourself hydrated, and what not. While 2 gallons is a bit overboard, c'mon, do you really think everyone is going to know that for some reason drinking too much water can kill them? That's called drowning.

I'm pretty sure drowning is when you get water in your lungs. Which I don't think was the case here.

Otherwise your post was pretty much a helpful boost to my point. Most people think that drinking a lot of water just makes you urinate . There is nothing scary about urination especially if it is because of water (diluted urine flows at body temperature without any noticeable acidity so it is the most effortless of urination solutions ).

 

[kronoset]

I can't call a mother of three stupid because she died in an ill conceived contest held by idiot dj because she did all to please the children she loved. She and the radio station were ignorant of the danger in the contest and I doubt any one here has ever heard of water poisoning. Parents love their children (most of the time) and will put themselves in terrible "get mauled by a panda" danger [http://www.china.org.cn/environment/news/2009-01/09/content_17079732.htm] just to make the ungrateful bastards happy

So just tell those kids that it's fine to be ignorant to the point where it kills you. Tell them that their mother died to get them a toy. And please, this goes beyond ignorance. Bodily functions are the way they are for a reason. Whether or not you know what they do doesn't excuse depriving yourself of them. Just because you average person might not be able to illustrate oxygen's path through the bloodstream doesn't mean that they can't figure out that asphyxiation is a bad idea.

Do you honestly believe that she should have known that not peeing would kill her. We deny bodily functions all the time. Do you defecate in public because you have the bodily need to? No you hold until you an get to the bathroom because you are controlling a bodily function to she just did too long and died because of it. I doubt you sleep at the same time every night and get the exact amount of sleep recommended, wake up and exercise for twenty minutes and only consume 2000 calories of highly nutritious foods low in fat, salt and sugar?

I suspect not and few do. We stay up too late, drink and eat too much, some even climb mountains that don't need to be climbed or jump off or out of perfectly good structures and planes. The circumstances off her death was stupid but she as a human was not.

No, I think that she should've known that cutting off her body's filtration system would do her serious harm. This isn't overeating, or falling under the recommended sleep limit. THIS IS CUTTING OFF YOUR BODY'S FILTRATION SYSTEM. IF ANYTHING GETS IN THERE THAT SHOULDN'T, YOUR DEAD. This is isn't like overeating and eventually getting clogged arteries, and eventually having a heart-attack...this is more similar to if you shut off your immune system during flu season. Also, you're get me off track from the actual point. The fact remains that she seriously damaged her body for a toy for her kids...not for an organ transplant or chemo-money for her kids.

 

[axia777]

This is so damn lame I can't even begin to say. She did the contest of her own free will, died, and now the family gets paid for her stupidity. Damn the American legal system is FUCKED. I do feel sorry for the family, but not 16 million sorry.

Also of note, in the family pic, is the one on the far left a girl or a boy? I really really can't tell.

 

[SomeUnregPunk]

I know people who can't drink OJ anymore because they drank too much of it and it causes an acid disbalance in their stomachs.
They didn't know juice could cause medical problems for them. Just because they weren't educated in that does not make them stupid.

Most people don't know that you can get intoxicated on water, most people know you can with alcohol and know how to combat that. A lot of you seem to believe that when a person is water intoxicated that they will know something is wrong. It's not like that, in fact you have all the signs of being dehydrated. Athletes have been known to actually start drinking more water because they confuse this.

SYMPTOMS: nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speech, and confusion.

 

[Racistman3d]

My faith in humanity grows weaker every day....

 

[appleblush]

I just want to clear a few things up because I live in this area, fairly close to the radio station that hosted this.

First things first, they didn't sue the radio DJ. They sued the highest corporation who had nothing to do with the contest and probably weren't even contacted until it was too late. It's like if MTV held a similar contest and then someone sued Viacom. When radio shows have contests, typically the highest part of the corporation only gets involved when the prize is something like a vacation, or something expensive. But a Wii is a Wii. You don't need to sign a contract, they aren't that expensive (usually they only get involved with prizes above $1000). And the contest wasn't all that complicated. It was stupid sure but nothing that requires corporation consent. Which leads ME to believe that this wasn't a justice thing. If it was a justice thing, the family would've sued the DJ with criminal charges. Instead they file a suit against the corporation for a hefty fine. That isn't suspect at all. No ulterior motives here.

Secondly, even if you don't know about water poisoning, which I didn't, anyone who knows anything about how the human body works, meaning they know where pee comes from, will know that drinking a lot of liquid and then just holding your bladder is harmful. Water poisoning isn't the only thing that can happen when you drink too much water. Really, drinking too much water in a single sitting is the same as drowning. Drowning isn't completely suffocation. A lot of it is just the intake of water. And I imagine the DJ DID have waivers because if he didn't, then that's another stupid thing. I would never participate in a contest without a waiver. Yes I know waivers are to save the companies ass usually but it also indicates some responsibility that at least they recogonize that something could happen. I had to sign a waiver for a screaming contest, a SCREAMING CONTEST. Because apparently there's a very slim chance that I could damage my vocal cords to the point of voice loss or something. But I believe they did have waivers but juries don't care about waivers when someone dies. Especially when its so easy to paint that person as a victim.

Lastly, I have to bring up the fine again. Everyone's saying "Oh its a poor mother of three" and that money will not bring her back. Your right. So why is the family suing? If they were charging the DJ, I'd understand. If they were seeking criminal prosecution, I'd understand. They want justice. Whether or not it was the mothers fault or not, that isn't as much an issue when they're seeking appropriate charges. But no, they went to the highest they could and sued for a fine. No one finds that suspicious? No one thinks it's the least bit strange that instead of knowing that the DJ responsible for the irresponsibility is in jail for his actions they go for the money? Personally, I think that the husband has a little greed up his sleeve and I think part of it is because we live in an advantageous society. If you see an opportunity for material gain, you take it, no matter how despicable. Sending the DJ to jail, oh whatever, I don't get anything I can hold and feel good about. Lets get money instead.

Really, I don't think this is as much an issue of the mothers stupidity, and it was stupid, but really many other people participated as well and certainly people would participate again even after this. Its more about the family, most particularly the husband I believe.

 

[King of the N00bs]

can i go cry in my corner now?...please?

 

[thel1st]

has she not heard of "wee" ing her pants?

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Just as a quick note, would 2 litres or 4 pints not have done the job? After all, they could have spun that into a health thing, as that's how much water you're supposed to drink a day. (admittedly not in one go)

I just want to clear a few things up because I live in this area, fairly close to the radio station that hosted this.

First things first, they didn't sue the radio DJ. They sued the highest corporation who had nothing to do with the contest and probably weren't even contacted until it was too late. It's like if MTV held a similar contest and then someone sued Viacom. When radio shows have contests, typically the highest part of the corporation only gets involved when the prize is something like a vacation, or something expensive. But a Wii is a Wii. You don't need to sign a contract, they aren't that expensive (usually they only get involved with prizes above $1000). And the contest wasn't all that complicated. It was stupid sure but nothing that requires corporation consent. Which leads ME to believe that this wasn't a justice thing. If it was a justice thing, the family would've sued the DJ with criminal charges. Instead they file a suit against the corporation for a hefty fine. That isn't suspect at all. No ulterior motives here.



Personally, I think that the husband has a little greed up his sleeve and I think part of it is because we live in an advantageous society. If you see an opportunity for material gain, you take it, no matter how despicable. Sending the DJ to jail, oh whatever, I don't get anything I can hold and feel good about. Lets get money instead.

Really, I don't think this is as much an issue of the mothers stupidity, and it was stupid, but really many other people participated as well and certainly people would participate again even after this. Its more about the family, most particularly the husband I believe.

Although I pretty much agree with everything this guy said, cut down for length only, I'd be surprised if they chose to do this off their own back, maybe the husband was looking to press charges, then the story breaks nationwide and the ambulance chasing lawyers sniff a big payout, and start telling him how the only way he can only honour his dead wife is to make them pay and pay big, and yes I'll be taking 30% thanks.

If she'd lived for another 32 years, that's still half a million a year, although of course a wife and mother is irreplaceable, that still seems a lot, not trying to devalue a mother's role, but was she pulling in half a million a year or doing the work of 25 baby sitters at $20k a year? Seems harsh to break it down to cash, but as soon as the lawyer got involved that's what happened.

I'm just saddened that it's so rarely about justice, but about payouts nowadays. I can't really blame the father, without a mother, he's looking to pay for his kid's college fees and babysitters for the next 10 years or so.

 

[Worsle]

I just want to clear a few things up because I live in this area, fairly close to the radio station that hosted this.

First things first, they didn't sue the radio DJ. They sued the highest corporation who had nothing to do with the contest and probably weren't even contacted until it was too late. It's like if MTV held a similar contest and then someone sued Viacom. When radio shows have contests, typically the highest part of the corporation only gets involved when the prize is something like a vacation, or something expensive. But a Wii is a Wii. You don't need to sign a contract, they aren't that expensive (usually they only get involved with prizes above $1000). And the contest wasn't all that complicated. It was stupid sure but nothing that requires corporation consent. Which leads ME to believe that this wasn't a justice thing. If it was a justice thing, the family would've sued the DJ with criminal charges. Instead they file a suit against the corporation for a hefty fine. That isn't suspect at all. No ulterior motives here.

Secondly, even if you don't know about water poisoning, which I didn't, anyone who knows anything about how the human body works, meaning they know where pee comes from, will know that drinking a lot of liquid and then just holding your bladder is harmful. Water poisoning isn't the only thing that can happen when you drink too much water. Really, drinking too much water in a single sitting is the same as drowning. Drowning isn't completely suffocation. A lot of it is just the intake of water. And I imagine the DJ DID have waivers because if he didn't, then that's another stupid thing. I would never participate in a contest without a waiver. Yes I know waivers are to save the companies ass usually but it also indicates some responsibility that at least they recogonize that something could happen. I had to sign a waiver for a screaming contest, a SCREAMING CONTEST. Because apparently there's a very slim chance that I could damage my vocal cords to the point of voice loss or something. But I believe they did have waivers but juries don't care about waivers when someone dies. Especially when its so easy to paint that person as a victim.

Lastly, I have to bring up the fine again. Everyone's saying "Oh its a poor mother of three" and that money will not bring her back. Your right. So why is the family suing? If they were charging the DJ, I'd understand. If they were seeking criminal prosecution, I'd understand. They want justice. Whether or not it was the mothers fault or not, that isn't as much an issue when they're seeking appropriate charges. But no, they went to the highest they could and sued for a fine. No one finds that suspicious? No one thinks it's the least bit strange that instead of knowing that the DJ responsible for the irresponsibility is in jail for his actions they go for the money? Personally, I think that the husband has a little greed up his sleeve and I think part of it is because we live in an advantageous society. If you see an opportunity for material gain, you take it, no matter how despicable. Sending the DJ to jail, oh whatever, I don't get anything I can hold and feel good about. Lets get money instead.

Really, I don't think this is as much an issue of the mothers stupidity, and it was stupid, but really many other people participated as well and certainly people would participate again even after this. Its more about the family, most particularly the husband I believe.

Or you know what you all lack the knowledge of how the law works and all seem to be committing a massive logical fallacy. Clearly we all know water kills you, it is in the article but that does not mean any of you would really have thought of this before hand. Really you are getting your current knowledge mixed up with what you know before, a very common thing. Also no it is not like drowning, you drown by taking water into the lunges and it ten being absorbed into your system, over hydration flushes electro-lights from your system a very different. Also taking a piss would not have done anything, so despite your apparent superior knowledge you still don't have a good grasp of what happened.

Next civil and criminal prosecutions work very differently and very different burdens of proof attached. As compensation is awarded this would be a civil prosecution in witch case it makes sense to sue the owning company rather than the individual. Criminal proceedings would have had more of an individual basis but that requires thee police and others to decide on wither or not to carry it forward. Now was to much money awarded in this case? Given how little we know out side of the article and how some one died I don't think we can really comment.

Two quite notes, you an not get some one to sign their life away, if they die you will need a lot more than a waver to protect you. That and the parent company is in control of the radio station, you don't become free from responsibility by claiming you did not know. If a company you own kills some one you can not just turn round and say you where not informed, that is just stupid.

 

[mikecoulter]

Well, they shouldn't have suggested it. But it was completely up to her to do it or not... Unless she had really pushy kids that is.

 

[Nurb]

I'm pretty sure no one expected to die from drinking a lot of water, so no, the woman was not stupid for thinking it's harmless fun in order to get a wii. Like another poster said, not many know about water intoxication. However, those responsible for the contest should have looked into possibilities for harm since ingesting a lot of ANYTHING will kill you.

"BAWWWW AMERICAN COURT SYSTEM BAAAAWWWW"

man, a lot of people here are assholes.

 

[Zac_Dai]

Anyone who thinks the mother deserved and the family are greedy for suing can go fuck themselves.

But wait! I forgot how cool it is on this forum to be a dick.

 

[Amenta Kaiser]

Anyone who thinks the mother deserved and the family are greedy for suing can go fuck themselves.

But wait! I forgot how cool it is on this forum to be a dick.

Agreed. The mother wasn't stupid, I didn't even know such a thing as water poisoning existed. And suing wasn't the wrong thing to do, a family has lost its mother because the radio station didn't do any research to realize that this is dangerous.

This is so damn lame I can't even begin to say. She did the contest of her own free will, died, and now the family gets paid for her stupidity. Damn the American legal system is FUCKED. I do feel sorry for the family, but not 16 million sorry.

So what is a mother's life worth?

 

[lwm3398]

Too much of anything will kill you, including water...

Not even being facetious, can oxygen kill you? I mean, if water can, then why not?

 

[Amenta Kaiser]

Well, enough pure oxygen can get you high, so I don't see how too much can't kill you.