A 21-year-old intern died of an epileptic fit that may have been triggered by fatigue after working "exceptional" hours at a top investment bank, an inquest has heard.
Moritz Erhardt's body was found in a shower at his temporary accommodation after he'd been working through the night several times in the days before.
The German student was a week from completing a coveted placement at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's London offices, and was due to be offered a job at the bank.
An inquest at Poplar Coroner's Court in east London heard that Mr Erhardt was taking medication for epilepsy, but had not told anyone at the bank about his condition.
Mr Erhardt's death sparked calls to overhaul the culture of long hours in the City of London and prompted Bank of America Merrill Lynch to launch a review.
Recording a verdict of natural causes, coroner Mary Hassell told the court: "One of the triggers for epilepsy is exhaustion and it may be that because Moritz had been working so hard his fatigue was a trigger for the seizure that killed him.
The bank has launched a review after Moritz Erhardt's death "But that's only a possibility and I don't want his family to go away with the thought that it was something that Moritz did that caused his death.
"He was a young man living life to the full and he was clearly enjoying his time in London and, whilst it's possible that fatigue brought about the fatal seizure, it is also possible that it just happened. And it is something that does just happen."
The court head Mr Erhardt never complained about his working hours or feeling unwell, and even on the day before he was found dead, appeared to be fine.
Mr Erhardt's father, Dr Hans-Georg Dieterle, described his son as sporty and "full of life" but said from the start of 2010 he had suffered one to two epileptic fits a year, although these were not stopping him from living a normal life.
Dr Dieterle said although his son did not complain to his parents about his working hours they noticed from the time his emails were sent - sometimes at 5am or 6am - that he had worked through the night.
"He never complained but especially my wife noticed in the last week that he just didn't get enough sleep," Dr Dieterle told the court.
Juergen Schroeder, Mr Erhardt's development officer at Merrill Lynch, described him as "very motivated, very confident", but also "very humble, very down-to-earth".
He said: "Colleagues at the bank thought very highly of him and did enjoy working with him."
Describing him as "very proactive", he said: "He would not just sit still and wait for the work to come to him. He would be going round various teams and introducing himself, especially at the beginning."
He told the inquest it was difficult to know exactly what hours the student was working, and admitted that most interns worked long hours.
He said: "I think interns in general do work long hours and sometimes past midnight.
"I would say it's not only the case at Bank of America Merrill Lynch - it's the case at most banks in London, it's the case in Germany, it's the case in, I think, most parts of the world as well."
Asked by the coroner about how Mr Erhardt coped with his work, he said: "I was not very concerned about Moritz and the way he coped with his work.
"He seems, from the feedback I got, very efficient and very structured, and also relaxed, very relaxed.
"He was not the type of person who would show any signs of stress."
In a statement, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch spokesman said: "Moritz Erhardt's death was a tragedy that affected and saddened everyone in our company and especially those who had the privilege to spend time with him.
"He was an exceptional student and it was our intention to offer Moritz Erhardt a full-time position with us on graduation.
"As we have previously announced, a senior working group has been convened to review the work environment for our junior employees."
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