[ErieGeno]

The suit will win or at the very least settle for a 7 figures. The crew is lucky if they don't go to jail.

I vote for the jail option for the dj's.....

And 7 digits are not enough if the radio station is still on the air. The dj's were representatives of the station owners......

[highimpact]

This is a really tough call. I've juggled it for the last day or so. One one side, you have a childish stunt promoted by a radio station. Any radio station could generate enough interest in such a competition to attract competitors if the prize is desirable enough. On the other hand, you have the contestants' personal responsibility for their actions.

If you were to poll 100 people about the dangers of drinking too much water, a good percentage of them (just a guess...at least 10%, all of whom post at DU) wouldn't know that too much water can kill you. If you replaced the water with gasoline, 100 out of 100 people would know that's a risky proposition, and none would participate.

The radio station had to know that there were risks involved, and should have had all participants sign a waiver, stating in bold print: CONTESTANTS HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT TOO MUCH WATER CAN CAUSE PERMANENT INJURY, UP TO AND INCLUDING DEATH! PARTICIPANTS ACCEPT ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS.

To me, this is no different than an Irish bar having a whiskey drinking contest on St. Patties day. If somebody dies from alcohol poisoning, the bar is liable.