Bank of America Intern Worked Himself to Death With No Sleep
Bank of America is under close scrutiny following the death of 21-year-old Moritz Erhardt, an intern who some say was "worked to death" by the company.
Erhardt, originally from Germany, was in the last week of a seven-week Bank of America intern program being hosted in London. Erhardt was found unconscious in his dorm room last week.
Police do not suspect foul player, but the medical examiner will not be able to submit an official report until later this week. Those who interned alongside Erhardt however, suspect that aspiring investment banker may have deprived himself of too much sleep.
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"He apparently pulled eight all-nighters in two weeks. They get you working crazy hours, and maybe it was just too much for him in the end," one intern told The Independent.
Bank of America said in a statement that they were "shocked" by the young boy's death.
"He was popular amongst his peers and was a highly diligent intern at our company with a promising future," bank spokesman John McIvor said. "Our first thoughts are with his family, and we send our condolences to them at this difficult time."
McIvor noted that it was too soon to declare the cause of Erhardt's death.
"The thing to reiterate right now, nobody knows what happened and until that is established, I think any conclusion is premature," he said.
On the financial blog Wallstreetoasis.com one commenter wrote that Erhardt had pulled three all-nighters in a row before he was found unconscious.
Dr. Charles Czeisler, a Harvard Medical School sleep expert, said during a recent court trial that sleeping was essential to proper brain functioning.
"Like a computer, the brain has to go offline to maintain cells that we keep for life, since we don't make more," he told a courtroom. "Sleep is the repair and maintenance of the brain cells."
