Michael Schumacher’s lawyer discloses why there are no health updates on F1 icon
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Michael Schumacher’s lawyer said his family are keeping his health private to protect his "voluntary self-disclosure".
The seven-time F1 champion’s current health status and condition has been kept behind closed doors, ever since his horrific skiing accident in December 2013. Schumacher suffered a severe brain injury after hitting his head on a rock while skiing in the Alps.
After initially being put into an induced coma until June 2014, the former Ferrari ace left the hospital he was placed into in Grenoble and was relocated to his home for more treatment and private rehabilitation. As those outside of his family circle remain in the dark about his condition, his lawyer, Felix Damm, made it clear why they continue to keep things quiet.
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“It was always about protecting private things,” Damm said to German outlet LTO. “We considered whether a final report about Michael's health could be the right way to do this.
“But that wouldn't have been the end of it and there would have had to be constantly updated ‘water level reports’, and it would not have been up to the family when the media interest in the story stopped.
"They could pick up on such a report again and again and ask: ‘And what does it look like now’, one, two, three months or years after the message.
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“If we then wanted to take action against this reporting, we would have to deal with the argument of voluntary self-disclosure.”
Voluntary self-disclosure is the precedent preventing people from claiming a right to privacy, if the reported information has already been shared publicly by themselves or a representative. While he did not go into any specific details, Schumacher's former team-mate Johnny Herbert recently suggested the F1 legend's condition is still not good.
He told Grosvenor sport: “There’s never any news. What we do know is we never hear any positive news.
“That’s the horrible thought that he is still not able to be close to the Michael that we all remember. And that is very sad.”
While Herbert's quotes were a sight hint on how Schumacher was doing, Damm made it clear that the public should not expect any firm updates or details on how Schumacher's recovery is going.
“If it is not the person concerned himself but friends or acquaintances who disclose private information, it is not a case of ‘voluntary self-disclosure’ of privacy,'" he explained. "Therefore, the data subject can defend himself against disclosure of private circumstances even if the information comes from an acquaintance.”
- Michael Schumacher
- F1
- Ferrari
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