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SCHUMACHER

Schumacher’s file ‘stolen from French hospital’

An investigation is underway at the French hospital where Michael Schumacher had been receiving treatment after part of the former racing driver’s medical file was stolen. Reports say documents have since been offered to various media groups for €48,000.

Schumacher’s file 'stolen from French hospital'
Part of Michael Schumacher's health file has been stolen from a hospital in Grenoble, where he was receiving treatment. Photo: AFP

French prosecutors have confirmed that the hospital in Grenoble has filed a complaint after medical documents and data on Schumacher were stolen earlier this month.

The former Formula One star had been receiving treatment at the hospital after suffering a life-threatening injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps in December.

Schumacher was recently moved from the hospital in Grenoble to a clinic in Lausanne, Switzerland where he will continue his recovery from the accident.

But Schumacher’s entourage are concerned that private details on the German’s state of health have been pilfered and data has reportedly been offered to various French, German and English media groups for €48,000.

Sabine Kehm a spokeswoman for the German said: “For some days, documents and data, which the seller claims are the medical records of Michael Schumacher, have been made available to certain members of the media in return for payment.

“We cannot say whether these documents are genuine. But the fact is documents have been stolen and the theft has been reported and the authorities are investigating,” said Kehm.

She warned that Schumacher’s family would pursue legal action against any media organisation which publishes any of the documents.

“The purchase of these records and their publication are forbidden,” Kehm said. “The information in the file is highly confidential and cannot be made available to the public.”

Details around the theft remain vague. According to regional French newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, the first two pages from a ten page file on Schumacher have been stolen.

According to German newspaper Bild Zeitung the seller claims the stolen pages contain information about the surgery that Schumacher underwent whilst in Grenoble.

“We cannot say whether these documents are genuine. But the fact is documents have been stolen and the theft has been reported and the authorities are investigating,” said Kehm.

Doctors at the Grenoble hospital put Schumacher in a medically-induced coma after the December 29th accident in which he hit his head on a rock while skiing with his son and a group of friends.
 
Initial reports had claimed that Schumacher had been going fast at the time of the accident which occurred just a few metres off the piste, but a probe by French investigators revealed that they were not too concerned by his speed and that his equipment and signage were not to blame.
 
The 45-year-old had two operations the days after the accident to remove life-threatening blood clots on his brain.
 
Schumacher's family has repeatedly called on the media not to intrude so he can continue his recovery "away from the public eye".

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FORMULA ONE

Michael Schumacher not being moved from Switzerland to Mallorca: spokeswoman

Ex-Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is not being moved from his home in Switzerland to the Spanish island of Mallorca, a spokeswoman said Thursday, refuting a report by a Swiss magazine.

Michael Schumacher not being moved from Switzerland to Mallorca: spokeswoman
A photo of Michael Schumacher at the new Motorworld in Cologne, Germany. Photo: AFP

Swiss news magazine L'Illustre reported this week that the seven-time world champion, who sustained serious head injuries in a 2013 skiing accident, was being moved to a vast property in the village of Andratx on Mallorca, recently purchased by his wife Corinna.

A number of media around the world have picked up the story in recent days, prompting the family to exit its habitual silence on all private manners.

“The Schumacher family does not plan to move to Mallorca,” family spokeswoman Sabine Kehm told AFP in an email.

L'Illustre based its story on a comment from Andratx mayor Katia Rouarch, saying she could “officially confirm” the 49-year-old German sportsman would be settling in the village.

“Everything is being put in place to accommodate him,” she told the magazine.

But it appears that the vast property that Corinna Schumacher reportedly bought from Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in Andratx for some 30 million euros ($34 million) is meant to be used as a vacation home for her and the couple's two adult children.

Schumacher fell and hit his head against a rock while skiing in the French Alps with his family in December 2013.

He spent time in hospital in Grenoble and Lausanne before being brought to his home on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland in September 2014 to continue his rehabilitation.

Schumacher's family has avoided providing any details about his health,insisting it is not a public issue, and his current condition remains a mystery.