SAO PAULO, BRAZIL - NOVEMBER 25: Michael Schumacher of Germany and Mercedes GP reacts in parc ferme after finishing his last F1 race following the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 25, 2012 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
A lawyer for Michael Schumacher has told a court in Germany that the former Formula 1 world champion cannot walk following the devastating injuries he sustained in a 2013 skiing accident.
Schumacher’s family has taken the German magazine Bunte to court over a cover story that claimed the 47-year-old could walk again.
Felix Damm, Schumacher’s lawyer, has detailed his client’s injuries to the court. The former driver’s family has labeled the magazine’s miraculous recovery story as false.
Damm said simply, “He cannot walk,” adding Schumacher is incapable of standing, even with the help of therapists.
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At the end of last year, Schumacher’s agent, Sabine Kehm, released a statement denying the story, saying: “Unfortunately we are forced by a recent press report to clarify that the assertion that Michael could move again is not true. Such speculation is irresponsible, because given the seriousness of his injuries, his privacy is very important. Unfortunately they also give false hopes to many involved people.”
After suffering a head injury in the skiing accident in France, Schumacher was placed in a medically induced coma for six months at a hospital in Grenoble, France, before being transferred to his home in Lausanne, Switzerland to continue his treatment. He was on vacation with his wife Corinna and two children when he hit his head on rocks at the ski resort of Mirabel in the French Alps on December 29, 2013.
Not much is known of the sports legend’s recovery, as his family has strongly protected the German’s privacy.
In February, his former boss at Ferrari, Luca di Montezemolo, said: “I have news and unfortunately it is not good.”
Schumacher is the most statistically successful Formula One driver of all time, having won 91 races and seven world championships, including five in a row from 2000-2004 when he was racing for Ferrari.
The verdict in the case against Bunte is expected next month.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 25: Michael Schumacher of Germany and Mercedes GP reacts in parc ferme after finishing his last F1 race following the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace on November 25, 2012 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
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