Bank of America Intern Drops Dead After 72 Hours of Non Stop Work! What Was the 21-Year Old Working Maxim that Led to His Untimely Death? [VIDEO & REPORT]

By Jobs & Hire Staff Reporter

Aug 21, 2013 09:11 PM EDT

Bank of America intern Moritz Erhardt was found unconscious and pronounced dead in his London apartment last Thursday after working 72 hours straight on his desk at the enterprise' London branch.

Erhardt reportedly suffered from epilepsy before collapsing. It will take about four to five weeks of autopsy results in order to release his official cause of death. Until now, suicide is not being ruled out. The 21-year old intern was set to complete his summer program by the end of the week and because of the 3-day nonstop working binge, the incident is causing quite the stir in the working world.

In an interview with The Independent, one intern in the finance industry describes the situation: "You're only doing it for up to 10 weeks so there's a general acceptance of it," and continues, "I see many people wandering around, blurry-eyed and drinking caffeine to get through but people don't complain because the potential rewards are so great. We're competing for some very well-paid jobs."

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) finds the need to re-assess the working hours and conditions, especially in the financial industry. "A lot of young people are fairly desperate to get work and will go the extra mile and beyond. They need support and pastoral care," CIPD's Katerina Rudiger explains. As for the Bank of America, a statement was released stating, "We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news of Moritz Erhardt's death.He was popular amongst his peers and was a highly diligent intern at our company with a promising future. Our first thoughts are with his family and we send our condolences to them at this difficult time."

The Bank of America intern was an exchange student in University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business. His Seelio page writes, "I have grown up in a family that expected me, in whatever, respect to excel in life," he wrote. "By implication, I somehow felt pressurized."

This isn't the first incident that an intern died because of overworking allegations. A female intern in JP Morgan died as well. Such issues aren't only rampant in London but also in Berlin, Singapore and New York.