Can You Seek Compensation For Your Slip And Fall Injury If You Were Drinking Alcohol?
In most cases, when you get injured in a slip and fall accident, you can seek compensation for your damages and losses by pursuing a personal injury claim against the owner of the property where the incident occurred. However, determining whether or not you are entitled to compensation for your injury is complicated if you were drinking before you fell.
Florida is a pure comparative negligence state, which means the injured party’s negligence or recklessness also plays a role in determining fault. If you were under the influence of alcohol when your slip and fall accident happened, you might be partially or fully at fault for your injury.
That is why it is important to contact a Miami slip and fall accident lawyer if you were injured on residential or commercial property after consuming alcohol.
Can You Recover Damages After a Slip and Fall Accident if You Were Drunk?
Whether or not you can seek compensation for your slip and fall injury sustained on someone else’s property after drinking alcohol depends on several factors, including:
- Was the property owner negligent in causing the accident?
- Did your intoxication play a role in the slip and fall accident?
- What was your level of intoxication when the accident occurred?
When determining fault in a slip and fall accident, an insurance company or judge will have to examine all available evidence to determine whether or not the injured party contributed to the accident. A person who got injured on someone else’s property is more likely to be deemed partially or even fully at fault for their injury if they were under the influence of alcohol.
In fact, Florida has a law that prevents injured parties from recovering any damages if their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) exceeded .08% at the time of the accident. The statute is known as the “alcohol or drug defense,” codified in Fla. Stat. § 768.36.
To sum up, you may be barred from seeking compensation for your slip and fall injury if your BAC level exceeded .08% when you slipped and fell on someone else’s property.
Can You Seek Compensation if Your BAC Was Below .08%?
If your BAC did not exceed .08% at the time of your slip and fall accident, you might still be able to recover damages. However, your degree of fault would still be considered to determine whether or not you are entitled to compensation.
Florida follows the pure comparative negligence doctrine, which can reduce an injured party’s compensation in proportion to their degree of fault. For example, if you were determined to be 30% at fault for your slip and fall accident because you were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, your total compensation will be reduced by 30%.
Each case is unique, which is why it is in your best interests to speak with an experienced attorney to determine whether or not you can seek compensation for your slip and fall accident after drinking alcohol. Call 305-670-2889 to receive a free case evaluation with our attorneys at Pita Weber Del Prado.
