Michael Schumacher, the ex-Formula One champion who is currently in a coma, was sued by a biker in Spain over a road accident last year. The news comes as likely erroneous reports claimed that he woke up from his coma and recognized his wife.
According to The Mirror, Schumacher is accused of knocking a motorcyclist from his bike in Spain. The incident took place weeks before Schumacher, 45, injured himself skiing in December and was placed in a coma.
He is accused of failing to give way at a roundabout in Bormujos, close to Seville. The biker, who was not named in the suit, claims to have suffered a broken wrist and damage to his watch in the accident.
The seven-time F1 champ was named in the complaint along with the car hiring firm that let him rent the Audi he drove in Spain.
A police accident reports says Schumacher did not respect the alleged victim’s right of way in Spain. Bad lighting on the roundabout was also a factor, according to The Mirror.
This weekend, the Spanish-language version of the state-run Russia Today website claimed that his manager, Sabine Kehm, said Schumacher said he woke from his coma and recognized his wife.
However, Bild journalist Nicola Pohl tweeted that the report isn’t true. “Schumacher awake? Sorry, but those rumors from Spain apparently not true. Kehm just texted me she hadn’t confirmed anything to RTL,” she wrote. “No, it’s NOT true!” she also wrote in response to another Twitter user.
Earlier in April, it was reported that Schumacher was displaying “small signs of consciousness” after four months in his medically induced coma.
“There are short moments of consciousness and he is showing small signs of progress,” Kehm was quoted by the Telegraph as saying. “There are moments when he is awake and moments when he is conscious.”
She added: “Of course I am not a doctor, but medically, there is a distinction between being awake and being conscious, the latter meaning there is an ability to interact with his surroundings.
“I don’t want to disclose details out of respect for the family, but we have no doubt at all in the abilities of the doctors treating Michael, they are experts in their field.”
She said that his family is dismayed by some of the media’s coverage of his accident and coma.
“What upsets the family most is media quoting doctors who are not treating Michael and untruths are constructed from these,” she said. “It has been a problem when outsiders comment and it means we have to set the record straight, even when we don’t want to.”
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