Title of presented paper: The analysis of injury-related deaths with blood alcohol content over 3.5 ‰.

Introduction and aim. Alcohol is a factor that promotes injury- related death - poisoning, vehicle accidents, falls, drownings. Moreover, alcohol consumption contributes to the increase in suicide rate - blood alcohol content is present in many cases. Occasionally, its concentration is so high that it is questionable whether it is possible to commit a suicide or drive with such a high BAC. The study aimed to investigate if individuals with BAC over 3.5‰ can remain active and die of other reason than alcohol intoxication. Material and methods. Retrospective analysis of sectional protocols of people with BAC over 3.5‰ who did not die because of lethal blood concentration of alcohol from the Department of Forensic Medicine in Cracow in the years 2014-2022 was conducted. After finding cases with BAC over 3.5‰ who did not die as a result of alcohol intoxication, the analysis of the causes of their deaths was performed. Results. Having excluded subjects that did not meet our requirements, we obtained 43 cases in total -- 27 pedestrians hit by some vehicle, 4 drivers, 5 murdered victims, 5 died by hanging and 2 by falling from a height. We also searched for the highest possible BAC in general as well as in particular groups that enabled them remain active, and so we documented a pedestrian with BAC 4.8‰ who died in a road accident while crossing the road. Conclusion. Intoxicated people with BAC over 3.5‰ are able to perform different kinds of activities, which eventually become the cause of their death. Some people are still able to walk, hang themselves or even drive a car. The vast majority of our cases died in car accidents. The results of our research may thus undermine the claim that people with high blood alcohol levels are not capable of committing suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]