Drunken neighbour

Step over him the next time.

no point in saying anything to him or helping him, you more than likely wouldn’t be the first person to tell him or give advice.

inform the landlord this time what he is at and to deal with it.

i find some of the responses strange here.

If the neighbour wants to be drunk on the street that’s one thing but opening up the front door, leaving it wide open and then passing out is something else. That is a risk to the safety and security of all of the other tenants and needs to be dealt with.

its a difficult one as the man clearly has enough problems without getting out out, but you have to think of safety if everyone.

id also not call helping someone interfering in their business. Man could have choked on his own vomit and then OP would have felt guilty for just stepping over him. Mind you, sane could have happened in his bed after you put him in. I’d call the Gardai and ambulance next time OP if it happens again.

yes of course, alcoholism is probably the most common form of addiction, so you ll find most would have had direct experience with it, including myself. yes addict's are extremely difficult to deal with, such is the complexity of such behaviors, but all humans are susceptible to this, including ourselves, yes it is true that people who find themselves in these situations find it virtually impossible to help themselves, this is where our social responsibility should kick in. yes most of us cannot directly help such folks, but most of us have the ability to pick up a phone and call services than can directly help, such as the emergency services.

ignoring such situations will not resolve them, we cannot continually ignore such social dysfunctions, as this will not resolve them, im guilty of doing this myself, attempting to ridicule and shame such behavior, will simply not work, direct action must be taken, baring in mind, some peoples 'rock bottom' is simply, death!

again, the op is not required to be a counselor, but a possible gateway to one, via a simply phone call.....

again, even though the advice of notifying the landlord may make sense, its very likely the landlord will respond with an eviction, this actually wont solve the problem at all, it just moves it else where, and would probably just exasperate it...

...please just make the simple phone call, and allow the professionals deal with it, and hopefully appropriately....

...some may deem ice bucketing as a form of abuse.....

That's what I'd be concerned about and what the landlord should be concerned about - fire......

What do you do with a drunken neighbour ?

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@breezy1985 please read The Forum Charter. Personal Issues is a heavily moderated forum.

To those advocating throwing ice water on him, have you ever seen how uncontrollable and aggressive someone blind drunk can turn in the blink of an eye? Terrible advice

Just a general principle. If you attempt to help him directly, e.g. turn him on his side or whatever, that would constitute a voluntary assumption of responsibility. Which can leave you liable if something subsequently happens to the man - say if you put him on his side, walk away and he later is found choked on his own vomit. If you just call an ambulance though, then you aren't assuming responsibility.

That is from the legal. not moral. perspective.

Yes, in theory, you could be liable if you voluntarily assumed responsibility and then abandoned the person, and something subsequently happened to them.

If you did, say, put him on his side, call an ambulance, and wait with him until they arrive then you'd probably be grand. Putting him on his side and walking away could leave you liable, whereas stepping over him while you know he is choking to death, wouldn't!!!

Do you stop and help homeless people every time you see them on the street? You do in your fcuk, you walk past them and ignore them.

This situation is the same really.

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@waterwelly tone down the language please

Do you dial 999 every time you see a drunk or homeless person?

Do you honestly think ringing 999 makes it all go away?

You are confusing what the doctor appears to have described as potentially an obligation to stop and help (which, if it exists is likely a professional obligation) with the legal situation of a person after they voluntarily assume responsibility.

The average person is under no legal obligation to help. There was a case recently (might have been in the UK or US) where a group of teens filmed a homeless man drowning. They could have helped him but instead decided to film it and laugh at him. No legal wrongdoing. Like I explained in the earlier post, the man could be visibly choking and you could step over him and have no liability. But once you assume responsibility for that incapacitated person, you are liable if you then abandon them.

As regards "being caught" or ability to lie your way out of trouble later, that is a separate matter.