Yes, you can claim for a personal injury if you were intoxicated at the time but, and it’s a big but, there are a few terms and conditions. 

As in any personal injury claim*, you cannot claim if the accident was 100% your fault. You can make a claim, though, if you were only partly at fault in what is known as shared liability.

Being drunk may be part of the reason you slipped on the bathroom floor in the pub, but it was also the pub’s responsibility to keep the floor dry and cordon off any dangerous spots.

Let’s take a look at how you can claim for personal injury, even if you were drunk at the time.

What does Irish law say about intoxication and personal injury claims*?

Intoxication or being drunk in public is difficult to define, and it is not any different with personal injury claims*. 

If you collapse and bang your head because you were drunk, it is unlikely you would have a valid personal injury claim*. If you slip and bang your head because the nightclub didn’t take care to clean up and cordon off a wet floor, then you may have a compensation claim.

Making a personal injury claim* is all about duty of care. You may have a valid compensation claim if you can show:

  • The owner of the property had a duty of care to you
  • They breached that duty of care, i.e. by not maintaining the property
  • You suffered an injury because of the breach of duty of care
  • The injury caused you to suffer pain and financial losses

Being drunk may be irrelevant or only part of the story leading to your personal injury. If you can show that a breach of duty of care caused an injury, you may have a compensation claim.

You can claim using Contributory Negligence or Shared Liability, as it is also known.

Understanding Contributory Negligence in Ireland

Contributory negligence in Ireland can be a tricky concept. How much were you responsible for your injury, and how much was the other side, is what matters and contributory negligence puts it into percentages of how much each side is responsible.

Going on a night out and knocking back a few pints will always reduce your ability to care for yourself. We’ve all seen someone do the trip over nothing after a couple of drinks, and most of us can have a bit of a laugh about it too.

It can get more serious, though, if you injure yourself when drunk. Was the accident avoidable is the question here, say, if the footpath was properly maintained or the ongoing repairs were clearly signposted and cordoned off.

How much the other side was responsible is key to contributory negligence. Were you 40% responsible because you were drunk? If so, the other side was 60% responsible.

Both sides contributed to the accident, and it is only a matter of sorting out the shared liability for what happened and how much each side is responsible.

Does being drunk automatically prevent a personal injury claim*?

No, being drunk does not prevent you from making a personal injury claim*. In simple terms, you may have contributed to the accident, but you were not fully responsible for it happening.

Being drunk does reduce your capacity to take care when in public, but it does not mean property owners, road users and business owners can drop their duty of care to you.

You can still make a personal injury claim*, but your compensation may be reduced.

How much is compensation reduced by if you are drunk?

Your compensation is reduced by the amount you contributed to the accident. If you are 60% responsible, then your compensation is reduced by 60%; if you were 25% responsible, then the compensation is reduced by 25% and so on.

Most personal injury claims* in Ireland will go to the Injuries Board. Previously known as the PIAB, the Board will look at your claim, judge how much responsibility you carry and issue its findings to both sides.

There is not one fixed amount by which compensation is reduced in a contributory negligence claim. If the Injuries Board usually awards €20,000 for your injury type but finds you 50% responsible, then the compensation is reduced by €10,000.

It may well be different for the next claimant, depending on the circumstances and the level of shared responsibility. Some valid claims are reduced by more than 70%, others by less than 15%.

A good personal injury solicitor can advise you on how to make a personal injury claim* when you were drunk.

Common types of personal injury claims* when drunk at the time

There are a few common types of personal injury claims* seen in Ireland made by people who were drunk at the time.

You make the personal injury claim* for the impact of the accident on your life.

Common personal injury claims* made by people who had been drinking:

The slip, trip and fall after drinking is a very common personal injury claim* in Ireland. 

You could slip on a wet floor in the pub, trip over a broken piece of furniture in the hotel lobby or fall on an uneven floor at the gig and make a personal injury claim*.

Your compensation may be reduced because you were drunk, but if the property owner breached their duty of care to you, you may be able to claim.

Many people suffer injury in road traffic accidents in Ireland, but drunk pedestrians also get injured, and it is not always their own fault.

Claims are made by people who were hit by a car or bus coming too close to the footpath or by injured pedestrians who were knocked down by a speeding driver in town.

Other road users have a duty of care to pedestrians, even to those who have had a couple of drinks.

Accidents in a public place after drinking can happen anywhere from the busy Dublin street to the gig in the local town square during a festival.

A broken arm because you tripped on a broken paving stone is still a broken arm, regardless of whether you were out with friends. The rubbish left uncollected, or the slippery footpath, was a contributory factor to your injury, as well as your being under the influence.
A good personal injury solicitor will have the experience in contributory negligence compensation claims.

Speak to a personal injury solicitor today

Make a personal injury claim* today by contacting Hughes & Associates Personal Injury Solicitors in Dublin.

You could have a claim after being injured in an accident that was not your fault, and even if you are partly to blame, you can still claim using the contributory negligence factor.

The back injury, psychological damage, deep cuts and bruises and other types of personal injury can impact your life, and you may have a compensation claim.

Contact Hughes & Associates Solicitors in Dublin for a confidential and professional service with your personal injury compensation claim.

FAQs for workplace injury and unfair dismissal claims

Yes, you can make a personal injury claim* against an employer. If an accident happened at work and it was not your fault, and you suffered an injury, you can claim compensation.

No, your employer cannot fire you for making a personal injury claim*. They cannot even threaten you with firing, and they cannot fire you.

Your personal injury solicitor can explain the unfair dismissal law to you.

You usually have six months from the date of firing to make an unfair dismissal claim against the employer.

In most cases, you should make the claim as soon as you are fired.

No, your employer cannot fail to promote you for making a personal injury claim*.

They cannot discriminate against you in the workplace, such as by giving you fewer shifts or paying you less than other employees.

Your job status should stay the same, and the employer must treat you like they treat any other employee in the business.

You have two years from the date of diagnosis of the injury following a workplace accident to make the personal injury claim*.

The workplace accident may have happened more than two years previously, but you have two years after a confirmed diagnosis of your injuries to make a claim.