Derryn Hinch defiantly declares he will ‘continue to drink’ after suffering ‘brain trauma’ in fall

AUSTRALIAN Senator Derryn Hinch has declared he will “continue to drink” after he “suffered a brain trauma” in a fall on a night out in Melbourne.

AUSTRALIAN Senator Derryn Hinch has reportedly suffered “brain trauma” after falling out of an Uber in Melbourne and declared he “will continue to drink” despite having previously sworn off alcohol.

The 74-year-old politician and former radio broadcaster fell out of the car on St Kilda Rd, knocked unconscious and taken to The Alfred Hospital for checks, the Herald Sun reported.

“I’d had two glasses of wine at dinner — I hadn’t overindulged. But it’s the obvious question with my background I don’t blame people for thinking that,” the liver transplant recipient told the newspaper.

He told reporters he had two glasses of “watered-down” Sauvignon Blanc and denied being drunk, blaming a “dodgy knee” and tiredness for the tumble. The senator said his doctors had cleared him to have a few drinks. “I have a couple glasses of wine a couple of times a week, I water it down,” he said outside his Melbourne home on Thursday.

“I won’t water down a glass of Grange, that’s a pledge.”

Mr Hinch was kept in The Alfred Hospital for observation overnight on Monday. He flew to Canberra for a War Memorial event on Wednesday. He said he felt embarrassed, but fine.

“You shouldn’t wear a knee brace and Cuban heels at the same time but I’ve done it before,” he said.

“Thank goodness the Uber driver and a passer-by called an ambulance, which was here in four minutes. I was unconscious, knocked out, big lump on the back of my head.

“The next thing I knew, I was in the Alfred Hospital with lots of tubes coming out of me and metal studs on me for the heart and stuff.”

Mr Hinch will undergo medical tests and have a heart monitor fitted on Thursday to determine if his heart played any part in his collapse.

But he was defiant in the face of critics who have accused him of not taking appropriate care of his donor’s liver.

Mr Hinch said he had to “live the best life I can” despite his liver transplant in 2011.

“I’m very appreciative to the family of my donor and I’ve met them many times over the years,” he said.

“I’m eternally grateful for it. You have to live your life. I didn’t have a drink for five years.

“I swore I would never drink again, but you have got to live your life.

“Yes, I will continue to drink.”

Senator Derryn Hinch, 74, reportedly suffered ‘brain trauma’ after falling out of an Uber in Melbourne. Picture: Peter Ristevski

The self-confessed Human Headline lived up to his nickname in 2016, making a splash with news he was “back on the booze”, after swearing off alcohol when he received the lifesaving transplant in 2011.

In 2007, Mr Hinch revealed that he was suffering from advanced cirrhosis of the liver brought on by chronic alcohol abuse.

Talking to Channel Nine, he confessed to marathon drinking sessions that would last for more than 12 hours.

He has been spotted having a drink since, but in 2016 claimed it was non-alcoholic Shiraz.

Mr Hinch blamed the fall on a “dodgy knee” and tiredness rather than the booze.

He is due to have medical tests on Thursday since a heart problem may have caused him to fall and black out.