Hit by a car whilst cycling under the influence, can I claim?

Yes, whilst it is illegal to ride your bike if you were unfit to do so due to drugs or alcohol, you are still entitled to bring a civil claim for your injuries.

As with any personal injury claim, you would have to establish that the car driver had been negligent.

However, whilst you would be entitled to bring a claim, the amount of compensation that you receive could be reduced if it were successfully argued that you had contributed to the accident. This is known as contributory negligence. For example, contributory negligence could be raised on the basis that your coordination or reaction time was impaired, you did not have proper control of your bike, and that this contributed to your injuries and/or accident.