2008 : On 29 September 6 , a car accident causes a head trauma that plunges Vincent Lambert into a vegetative coma , from which he will however leave 7 to reach a state of minimal consciousness 8 ("pauci-relational").
2009 : After a stay at the center of awakening of Berck-sur-Mer , Vincent Lambert is transferred to the CHU of Reims 9 .
2011 : Vincent Lambert's first medical expertise at the COMA Science Group in Liège. The expertise notes "a perception of pain and emotions preserved; the voluntary breath test shows a response to the command " 10 . According to the report, "Vincent Lambert is in a pauci-relational state involving the persistence of an emotional perception and the existence of possible reactions to his environment and that, therefore, the artificial diet and hydration had not for the purpose of keeping it artificially alive " 11 .
Since 2011 : Vincent Lambert is immobilized in a minimal state of consciousness, he is not connected to any machine, but can not swallow correctly, he is nourished artificially.
2012 : After returning to the University Hospital of Reims, eighty-seven speech therapy sessions were performed for approximately five months, from April 6 to September 3, 2012, to try to establish a communication code; these sessions failed because of the non-reproducibility of the answers. For the medical team, Vincent does not pretend 10 .
2012 : Despite the failure of speech therapy sessions, health care workers notice behavioral manifestations, which they believe can be interpreted as opposition to toilet care, reflecting a refusal of life. Following these findings and based on his analysis of the absence of favorable neurological evolution of the patient, his doctor initiates the collegial procedure provided for by Article R. 4127-37 of the French Health Code. public 10 .
2013 : On April 10, his doctor concludes with "unreasonable obstinacy" within the meaning of article L.1110-5, and decides to stop the artificial feeding and to decrease the hydration of Vincent Lambert 10 .
2014 : The expert report requested by the Council of State, submitted on May 26, concludes that the clinical condition of Vincent Lambert corresponds to a vegetative state ", with" disorders of swallowing, severe motor impairment of the four limbs, some signs of brainstem dysfunction "and" preserved respiratory autonomy ". The clinical evolution is marked by the disappearance of the fluctuations of the state of consciousness which had been noted during the assessment carried out in July 2011 at the Coma Science Group of the university hospital center of Liège, as well as by the failure of the active therapeutic attempts recommended during this assessment, which suggests "a deterioration of the state of consciousness since that date 10 , 12. The severity of cerebral atrophy and the lesions observed lead, with the delay of five and a half years since the initial accident, to estimate irreversible brain damage. Vincent Lambert may respond to his care and stimulation, but experts indicate that the characteristics of these reactions suggest that they are non-conscious responses and have not considered it possible to interpret these behavioral responses as testifying to a "conscious experience of suffering" or an intention or wish to stop or continue the treatment that keeps him alive 10 .
2018 : On November 22, the experts mandated by the Administrative Court of Châlons-en-Champagne confirm its "chronic irreversible vegetative state". The report also states that his "primary basic needs are not unreasonable or unreasonable obstinacy" and that Vincent Lambert's medical condition "does not call for any emergency measures". It states that "there are structures in France that can accommodate it until its disappearance if the maintenance at the Reims University Hospital is impossible for reasons other than the mere medical technique" 13 . Their conclusions are based on two moments when they examined Vincent Lambert on the evening of September 7 and the next morning with sixteen hours apart.