Court says intoxicated woman must bear half of injury claim

mbl.is reports that Iceland’s Court of Appeal has ruled that a woman who suffered permanent bodily injury after falling at a construction site near her home must bear half of her losses because of her lack of care and intoxication. She was assessed as having 7% permanent disability.

The ruling overturned a decision by Reykjavík District Court, which had recognised the woman’s full entitlement to compensation and found that her intoxication had not been proven when the accident occurred.

The accident happened on the evening of January 15, 2021, at an apartment building in Reykjavík where the woman lived. Construction work was under way, and paving slabs had been removed from the pavement at the main entrance.

The woman was carrying a rubbish bag to the waste storage area when she crossed the construction site and tripped over an uneven surface where the slabs had been removed.

No signs, cones, tape or other warning equipment had been placed around the construction site. It was undisputed before the Court of Appeal that the contractor had acted culpably by failing to provide such warnings.

Later that evening, the woman was taken by ambulance to the emergency department at Landspítali hospital. She complained of numbness and pain on the right side of her head, in her right shoulder and down her right arm. She believed she had hit her head in the fall but was unsure whether she had lost consciousness.

Three days later, she continued to report tenderness on the right side of her body, extending from her right hand up to her neck.

A blood sample taken at Landspítali about four hours after the accident showed an alcohol level equivalent to approximately 2.1 per mille.

The woman said she had not been drinking before the fall, but had consumed red wine afterwards to ease her pain. Her accounts of the amount varied. Medical records stated that she had said she drank “a little wine” after the accident. She later reportedly said that she had taken a bottle of wine and drunk from it. At the District Court, she said she had drunk several glasses, but no more than one bottle.

The District Court found that the evidence did not sufficiently establish that she had been intoxicated when she fell. It said the insurer’s evidence did not show that the alcohol level measured at the hospital could not have resulted from drinking after the accident.

The District Court also found it unproven that the woman knew or should have known about the construction work on the pavement. It ordered VÍS to acknowledge full liability for compensation related to her bodily injury.

The Court of Appeal assessed the evidence concerning her alcohol consumption differently. It found that the case supported her claim that she had drunk red wine after the accident, but that this could not explain the alcohol level measured in her blood.

The court therefore concluded that she had been significantly affected by alcohol when the accident occurred and that her condition had increased the risk of the accident. It also found that she should have exercised ordinary caution because it was dark and she knew that lighting in the area was limited.

The court further found that the uneven surface over which she tripped was probably no more than a few centimetres high. The court concluded that the woman’s own conduct contributed to the injury and that she must bear half of the loss.