Details about Michael Schumacher’s intensive medical care have emerged during court proceedings in Switzerland, where a former racing driver faces rape allegations involving the Formula 1 legend’s ex-nurse. The seven-time world champion’s daily treatment routine was characterized as “extremely challenging” during testimony at La Cote District Court in Nyon, providing rare insight into the German driver’s condition more than a decade after his devastating skiing accident.
Joey Mawson, 30, is standing trial for allegedly raping Schumacher’s former nurse at the family’s Swiss residence. The healthcare worker, whose employment with the Schumacher family ended in 2020, claims she was assaulted twice following a social gathering at the estate in 2019. Mawson’s defense attorney Maitre Veronica Abu Zeid has stated her client denies all charges, maintaining the encounter was consensual.
During court proceedings, the nurse’s legal representative detailed the immense pressures faced by Schumacher’s caregivers. “It’s an extremely demanding job, both physically and emotionally,” the lawyer told the court. “Added to that is the culture of silence surrounding this family. For the employees, who aren’t even allowed to talk to their friends about their daily lives, the pressure is enormous.” The attorney emphasized how the nurse was “entrusted with the most difficult tasks” in what was described as “no ordinary profession.”
Schumacher has remained largely out of public view since suffering a traumatic brain injury during a skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013. The Benetton and Ferrari champion, who won his seven world titles between 1994 and 2004, continues to require round-the-clock medical supervision while splitting time between properties in Switzerland and Mallorca. Recent reports suggest he has made some progress, with claims he can now sit upright and maintains some environmental awareness, though he remains wheelchair-bound and unable to walk independently.
According to Elisabetta Gregoraci, former wife of ex-Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore, Schumacher maintains limited communication abilities. Speaking to Spanish media in 2020, she revealed: “Michael doesn’t speak, he communicates with his eyes. Only three people can visit him, and I know who they are. They moved to Spain and his wife Corinna has set up a hospital in that house.” The family has maintained strict privacy about Schumacher’s condition throughout his lengthy recovery process.