Intoxicated Slip and Fall Injuries

The truth is that you can sue for a slip and fall if you were drunk when the accident happened. Other times, you may not be able to sue. It all depends on the unique circumstances of the case and the party at fault for the accident. 

You may be able to sue if the other party's negligence contributed to the slip and fall accident. Of course, getting drunk significantly increases the risk of slipping and falling. However, this does not mean that you broke the law or were negligent.

Take, for example, a case where a person slips and falls while drunk at a bar. In that case, the bar owner has a heightened degree of responsibility over their patrons. This is especially true because the business itself sells alcohol. And when a business is involved in the sale of alcohol, you expect it to put up extra measures to protect its customers.

When determining liability for a slip and fall accident involving an individual who was drunk, the issue of foreseeability will always surface.

In slip and fall cases, foreseeability refers to the ability to predict a particular incident and take reasonable measures to prevent it. When an incident is foreseeable, and the party that owes a duty of care fails to take necessary steps to avoid it, they could be liable for negligence.

Below is a hypothetical example.

You walk into a club downtown and then order several drinks. A few hours later, you head to the bathroom, step on a wet floor, and then slip and fall. As a result, you suffer several broken bones. In such a situation, you might think you do not have a valid slip and fall case because you were obviously drunk when the incident happened.

In addition, you will likely feel guilty and reckless. But that should not be the case.

When a bar serves alcohol, you expect them to know that drunk customers are at a higher risk of slipping and falling. This anticipation is what is known as foreseeability.

For this reason, if no one attempts to clean up the wet floor, putting customers at risk for hours, you may have a valid slip and fall case. Again, this applies regardless of whether or not you were drunk when the incident occurred.

The issue of negligence will also surface in such a case.

In a slip and fall case, negligence occurs when one party owes you a duty of care but breaches this duty.

Using the bar example above, the owner owes you a duty of care. This is because you are their customer. So when they breach this duty, leading to slip and fall, you may have a valid case against them.

When determining negligence, the judge or jury will look into the unique circumstances of the case. For example, if you slipped and fell after stepping on a wet floor, the judge or jury will want to know how long the floor had been wet.

Did someone notify the bar's management about the wet floor? If so, did the management ignore these concerns?

The bottom line is that each slip and fall case is different. For this reason, there is no standard procedure for tackling these cases. However, an experienced slip and fall attorney can analyze the specifics of the case and determine whether the other party was negligent. And if they were, the attorney will help determine the damages you may be able to recover.

Slip and fall cases do not have a standard settlement amount. Instead, the specifics of the case will determine the amount of compensation you may be able to recover for your injuries.

That said, the fact that you were drunk could influence the damages you may be able to recover. This is especially true if you slip and fall in an environment that does not serve alcohol.

For example, we mentioned earlier that you might have a valid claim if you slip and fall at a bar, even if you are drunk. This is because bars sell alcohol. For this reason, slips and falls in such establishments are foreseeable.

On the other hand, suppose you slipped and fell at a grocery store while drunk. Although most grocery stores sell alcohol, you are not allowed to consume it in the store. This means that the store owner might be responsible for the dangerous condition that led to the slip and fall, such as a wet floor. But, on the other hand, they are not responsible for you being drunk because people do not go to grocery stores to drink alcohol as they would at a bar.

In that case, you may or may not be able to recover damages for your injuries.

The type of negligence laws of your state will also influence the damages you may be able to recover. There are three common types of negligence laws:

• Contributory negligence
• Pure comparative negligence
• Modified comparative negligence

Contributory negligence is the least popular type of negligence law. This negligence law bars a plaintiff from recovering any compensation from the other party if they contributed to the accident in any way. For example, the plaintiff cannot recover compensation for their injuries, even if they were 1% at fault and the defendant was 99% at fault.

Suppose you slipped and fell at a grocery store after stepping on a wet floor. In that case, the general understanding is that grocery stores should not have wet floors during regular hours of operation, especially without clear warning signs. However, let's say you slipped and fell because you were drunk. In that case, if the grocery owner proves that any other person who was not drunk would have noticed the wet floor and avoided it, then the court will likely rule that you played a role in the accident by being drunk.

As a result, if you live in a contributory negligence state, you will not recover any damages for your injuries.

As expected, contributory negligence laws are deemed controversial for obvious reasons. As a result, only four states in the US follow this law. They include Alabama, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia.

In a pure comparative negligence state, plaintiffs can seek compensation for their injuries regardless of how much at fault they were for the accident. However, the compensation they can recover will depend on their percentage of responsibility for the accident. For instance, suppose you are 40% at fault for the slip and fall accident. In that case, you can only recover 60% of the damages you may be entitled to.

When you slip and fall while drunk and then file a lawsuit, the court will examine whether any sober person would have slipped and fallen under similar circumstances. If they determine that the fact that you were drunk played a role in the accident, then you will only recover compensation based on your percentage of fault. So, for example, let's say your case was worth $100,000 as compensation for your injuries, but the court ruled that you were 30% at fault. In that case, you will only recover 70% of the compensation, which translates to $70,000.

In a modified comparative negligence state, you can seek compensation for your injuries, but only if your percentage of fault is under a certain threshold, mostly 50 or 51%.

In a state that follows the 51% modified comparative negligence threshold, you can recover compensation if you are 50% or less at fault for the slip and fall accident. On the other hand, in states that follow the 50% threshold, you can only recover compensation if you are less than 50% at fault for the accident.

You may be able to recover economic and non-economic damages. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may also be able to recover punitive damages. However, it is important to note that punitive damages are not guaranteed. The judge and jury only award punitive damages in cases where the defendant is ruled to have been extremely reckless.

The fact that you were drunk when you got injured should be a good enough reason to hire an attorney if you wish to file a claim or lawsuit against the other party. This is because the other party will likely try to blame you for the accident. And when you are drunk, you may not realize that the law still protects you.

In addition, the fact that you were drunk gives the defendant confidence to challenge your claim. And, as expected, they will try to shift the blame back to you. If you live in a contributory state, all the defense has to prove to ruin your chances of recovering is that you were only 1% at fault for the accident.

In such states, the burden of proof is much heavier on the plaintiff. This is because they need to prove that the defendant was 100% at fault, which is quite difficult, especially without an attorney.

Since an attorney understands how these cases work and how state and federal laws apply to your specific circumstances, you can count on them to defend your rights.

Just as long as you have been injured due to someone else's negligence, you deserve compensation regardless of whether or not you were drunk. That is not something the other party would tell you. Rather, they will make you believe you do not have any right to sue because you were drunk.

That is why Morgan and Morgan exists in the first place; to fight for the rights of the injured and those who are unsure how the law protects them in such complex situations.

Do not be intimidated by parties whose only motivation is to avoid accountability for their negligence. Instead, let Morgan and Morgan fight for you or your loved one.

To get started, fill out our free case evaluation form.