Attorney Hristo Hristov will represent in court Manuela Gorsova, who is in coma, at the January 30 Bourgas court sitting in the trial against double world champion in figure skating Maxim Staviski.
Gorsova is one of the victims from the car crash caused by Staviski in August 2007. She has been in coma since the accident. Her fellow traveller Petar Petrov died in the crash.
During the last court hearing on January 10 2008, Gorsovas family demanded compensations to the amount of two million leva. The court threw out the demand. Its motivation was that the law had not foreseen the case and therefore the court could not appoint Hristov as authorised representative of Gorsova. While in coma, Gorsova had come of age and according to the law was no longer automatically represented by her parents and their attorney. As an adult, she would have to appoint her own representative or represent herself. According to the court, she was in physical but not in judicial incapacity to do so.
On January 28, Bourgas court of appeals confirmed the decision of the Bourgas regional court and set a time to authorise a legal representative of Gorsova.
Hristov told Bulgarian news agency BTA that Gorsovas father had already authorised him to represent his daughter.
Hristov was to specify the demands for compensations by Gorsovas parents, which would be presented to the court on January 30. Most probably he would present again the demand for two million leva. According to Hristov, Staviski had not paid anything for Gorsovas medical treatment so far.
