10 years have passed since the tragic incident that almost cost the life of the legendary racer Michael Schumacher. Since then, there has been virtually no reliable data on the athlete’s condition. Information is provided bit by bit by the racer’s family, which tries to carefully protect everything related to his health. The family’s lawyer spoke about why Schumacher’s relatives so carefully hide any information about him.
The seven-time world champion was seriously injured at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps at the very end of December 2013. The media reported that while riding with his son, Michael fell and hit his head hard on a rock. As a result of the injury, he suffered a brain hemorrhage, after which doctors were forced to put him in an induced coma. Schumacher left it only six months later.
Since that moment, no significant data on the driver’s condition has appeared. There were various rumors: some claimed that Schumacher was bedridden, others said that he could move independently and did not need breathing apparatus, but had lost the ability to speak.
Only those closest to him receive information about Michael’s health. Lawyer Felix Damm is helping his family maintain their privacy. According to him, this is being done deliberately: Schumacher’s relatives do not want the details of their personal life to become public knowledge. “We wondered if it would be right if we published a full report on Michael’s health and decided that this would not be the end of the matter. It would be necessary to constantly update the information, and it would not depend on the family when media interest in this story dries up.“says the lawyer.
Damm believes that in this case it will no longer be possible to stop the flow of questions from the press, because journalists will be able to operate with the argument of voluntary self-disclosure — this is a precedent when a person does not have the right to privacy if the information made public by him was transmitted to the public by himself or through a legal representative
Schumacher’s wife Corinna has previously stated her attitude to such issues. In the Netflix documentary, she claimed that Michael is with his family, although not the same as before. “Personal is personal, he always said so himself. It’s important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life for as long as possible.“she said.