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A federal appeals court says an Oregon longshoreman who got drunk on the job, urinated while standing on a dock and then fell 6 feet onto concrete should not get workers’ compensation benefits for his injuries.

Gary Schwirse drank at least nine beers and half of a pint of whiskey on Jan. 8, 2006. While standing on a dock, he urinated and fell over a railing.

He registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.25 percent.

Schwirse sued for workers’ compensation benefits and at first was victorious, when an administrative law judge ruled that workplace hazards had been a factor in his fall.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Schwirse’s injuries were due solely to intoxication and his employers could not be held responsible.

Topics Workers' Compensation Oregon