In a negligence lawsuit, the heart of the plaintiff’s claim is that the defendant acted unreasonably when it had a duty to act reasonable. To establish a basic case for negligence, there are four elements that the plaintiff must establish: duty, breach, cause, and harm. A recent California case explained the element of duty as it related to a radio station water-drinking contest.
A female contestant, Jennifer Strange, found this to be true during her participation in a radio station contest in January 2007. KDND, a Sacramento, CA, radio station hosted a contest during which individuals competed to win a Nintendo Wii gaming system by drinking as much water as possible without expelling any liquid: “Hold your Wee for a Wii”. Strange won second place…and also died. Her family sued the radio station for wrongful death and negligence. On October 29, 2009, a jury returned a verdict finding for the plaintiff, awarding roughly $1.5 million in actual damages and $15.1 million in punitive damages. KDND employees and disc jockeys involved in the contest were terminated as well.
Among other things the jury was to consider, it was instructed to determine if KDND had acted negligently in its organization and running of the contest. In evaluating negligence, there are four necessary conditions: duty, breach, cause, and harm. In application:
1. Duty: In this case, KDND had a legal duty to investigate the terms of its contest, including consulting with health experts regarding possible consequences of drinking too much water, etc., to ensure that it was safe for participants
2. Breach: KDND did not fully research the dangerous implications of water intoxication. Contestants signed a release, yet the release pertained only to the use of their names on the radio station. At no point did KDND warn the contestants of possible problems, nor did they have medical personnel at the station in case of a problem. Further, during the course of the contest, the KDND employees encouraged the participants to drink more water despite many of them complaining of illness or visibly suffering and did not call for medical help. Members of the public who called in to voice concern about the contest were mocked and ignored.
3. Cause: The encouragement provided by the KDND employees to drink more water, coupled with their lack of medical services, were the direct result of Strange’s death. Were it not for her ingestion of excessive amounts of water, she would not have died.
4. Harm: Ms. Strange died.
The court held that the radio station shirked its duty to conduct a safe contest, and was ultimately responsible for the death of Ms. Strange.
Companies considering sponsorship of contests open to the general public should consider all of the risks and make sure that they are acting reasonably before going through with the competition. With careful planning and an eye towards all that could go wrong, your company can have a successful contest, keep contestants safe, and avoid liability.