A UK man is suing his employer after a work social left him seriously injured.
Mike Brokie from Reading, England, spent four weeks in a coma and had to have half of his skull removed after falling and hitting his head during an office night out in April 2019, The Guardian reports.
The auditor claims the company he works for - professional services firm PwC - is liable for the negligence of Brokie's manager, Simon Fradgely, who allegedly said he expected "absolute attendance" to the social outing.
Brokie is now suing PwC for over $230,000.
According to court documents seen by the Financial Times, the pub golf social where Brokie was injured was allegedly organized by Fradgely, and involved visiting nine venues at which points were awarded for downing drinks as fast as possible.
In his lawsuit, Brokie claims that the rules of the event "not only encourage but make a competitive virtue of excessive, rapid and prolonged consumption of alcohol over many hours from about 6PM."
He adds that it was "clearly foreseeable" that someone would be severely injured during the social. Speaking to ITV News at the time, he said he did not remember exactly how he came to be injured, but that "doctors and the police came to the conclusion that I fell over and didn't use my hands to break the fall so I ended up hitting my head on the floor."
"The next thing I remember was four weeks later," the 28-year-old said.
After spending weeks in an induced coma and having half of his skull removed, Brokie eventually recovered - though he claims to still suffer "persistent cognitive symptoms".
Now, despite still working for PwC, Brokie is looking to be compensated by his employer for his injury.
So far, PwC has yet to respond to the lawsuit beyond canceling the annual social event, which had been running for around seven years before Brokie was injured. Fradgely is reportedly still employed at PwC, and the firm is yet to file a defense in the case.
A spokesperson for the company told the Financial Times: "We are unable to comment on the specifics of a matter that is subject to ongoing legal proceedings.
"As a responsible employer we are committed to providing a safe, healthy and inclusive culture for all of our people. We also expect anyone attending social events to be responsible and to ensure their own safety and that of others," they added.
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