Hospital care has mounted a massive lawsuit.

Thomas Manfred Hofer, 33, has filed a writ against the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

Yesterday his lawyer Michael Scott said the claim was for negligence and damages for injuries. It would include costs for ongoing care.

"I can't say at this stage how much we are claiming, but it will be substantial,'' he said.

An ex-colleague of Mr. Hofer, Gerhard Lipp, told The Royal Gazette his friend was being cared for in a special clinic in Germany. And minimum daily medical costs came to $400.

"He is paralysed from his neck to his toe and needs special care all the time,'' said Mr. Lipp, who works at Kathy's Kaffee and Sushi Bar on Front Street.

"He has not recovered any feeling and is basically just a vegetable.

Mentally, there is nothing wrong with him.'' It is understood Mr. Hofer's case -- publicised by newspapers in Germany -- has been reviewed by the German Consul in New York.

The Bermuda Hospitals Board is expected to comment on the writ today.

Mr. Hofer was a chef at the Once Upon A Table restaurant in Serpentine Road, Pembroke.

On February 10, 1994. he was arrested after entering The Bank of Butterfield on Front Street, claiming to be a killer.

Friends say he was then taken to St. Brendan's Hospital for psychiatric treatment.

"I heard it was for his own safety, and that of the public,'' Mr. Lipp claimed at the time. "What I want to know is how he received his injuries, and ended up paralysed. There was just no need for him to end up this way.'' He said Mr. Hofer had no physical problems before being admitted to St.

Brendan's.

After being treated in the intensive care unit at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Mr. Hofer was flown back to Bavaria, Germany, near his home town outside Munich.

Hospital chiefs launched an inquiry. The then executive director of the hospitals board Hume Martin said the injuries "were a result of actions taken'' by Mr. Hofer.

Yesterday Mr. Scott said he had filed the writ to "preserve the case''.

"In personal injuries cases you must file a writ within three years of the injury. Most actions have a limitation.'' Mr. Scott said the medical bills for Mr. Hofer were being picked up by Social Services in Bavaria.

"I can't say what his medical position is right now, although from what I can gather he is still on his back and there has been no recovery from quadriplegia.

"I have a medical report on him, but it is in German and I'm still waiting for it to be translated.

"I'm expecting now to bring the claim on so we can see if we can reach a settlement. The German Government certainly have an interest in something being done.

"I am also aware that the US Consul for Germany in New York have been taking an interest.'' Mr. Scott said the claim for damages would be considerable, including costs for medication and transferring Mr. Hofer overseas.

COURTS CTS