A SOLDIER has claimed that his comrade pushed him off a 20ft balcony on a boozy night out after visiting McDonald's.
Lucca Brunozzi, 22, suffered brain damage as well as a broken neck and back after the fall and is now suing the Ministry of Defence for a whopping £13 million.
Lucca, a former soldier in the Regiment of Rifles, blames the "drinking culture" in the armed forces for the horror plunge, which saw him topple from a building at Ward Barracks, near Bulford, Wiltshire.
He claims that his injuries, which he suffered in March 2019, have ruined his life and career.
According to Lucca, The Army encouraged a boozy culture at the site and he blames this for a row between him and another soldier allegedly culminating in him being pushed from the top floor.
He is now demanding that the MoD pay for the costs of his lifetime care, as well as compensation.
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In court documents, his barrister Stuart McCracken said that the fall happened when Lucca returned from a night out and a trip to McDonald's in nearby Salisbury and got into an altercation with another squaddie.
He said: "He felt a strong push, which the claimant believes to have been perpetrated by [his comrade].
"The push caused the claimant to make contact with the balustrade, to pivot over the top of it, to fall down onto the ground floor below, and to sustain serious injury."
Lucca also alleges that the others present failed to call an ambulance and he woke up the next day "undressed and in his own bed", having been dragged back to his room.
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His injuries are, according to his legal team, a result of The Army not providing high enough guardrails on the balcony and encouraging excessive alcohol consumption in the barracks.
They say that his injuries cause memory loss and a shortened concentration span and that they make him "vulnerable".
The MoD deny the claims and say that the fall was due to Lucca "consuming a grossly excessive amount of alcohol" and brawling with his alleged attacker.
Defence Barrister Andrew Ward said: "The defendant does not know how or why the claimant ended up going over the balustrade on the top floor, which he must prove."
He added that Lucca was "probably very intoxicated" as the MoD pointed to a police report stating that he had downed six beers, four or five double vodka cokes and two Jäegermeisters that evening.
Mr Ward continued: "The [MoD] did not suffer, cause, permit or foster a culture of drunken fighting and/or inappropriate conduct and/or aggression whether as alleged or at all."
He also alleged that the height of the rail on the balcony was "reasonably safe".
The case has reached the High Court and is currently awaiting a trial date.
However, in a pre-trial hearing, the judge, Master Lisa Sullivan, said the key trial issues would boil down to whether there was a breach of duty by the MoD, and the exact cause of the accident.
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