SEATTLE — The family of an innocent man rendered comatose when a sheriff’s deputy slammed into him, sending him headfirst into a tile wall in downtown Seattle, filed a $25 million claim Tuesday against the county.

The claim brought by the wife and parents of Christopher Sean Harris, 29, of Edmonds, “will likely be followed by a lawsuit” unless it is resolved within 60 days, said Simeon J. Osborn, a lawyer who filed it with the county’s Risk Management Division.

“He is in a coma, has irreversible brain damage, and will never recover,” Osborn wrote in the claim. “He cannot walk, talk, recognize his family, or engage in the activities of daily living.”

Medical bills are approaching $1 million and the cost of 24-hour care will run into the millions, Osborn said at a news conference.

Dan Donohoe, a spokesman in the county prosecutor’s office, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation. Last month county prosecutors declined to file charges Deputy Matthew Paul, saying the injury to Harris was a tragedy but that there was no indication the deputy had committed a crime.

Harris has been in a “vigil coma” since taking a hit from Paul, 26, who outweighed him by 100 pounds, early on May 10. Surveillance video from the Cinerama movie theater showed Matthews racing toward Paul, who appeared to have stopped with his arms outspread, and of giving him a shove that knocked the smaller man eight feet and through the air into the base of the wall.

The claim, which lists 24 witnesses, is based on sheriff’s office training, policies and procedures, as well as on the conduct of Paul and Deputy Joseph Eshom, 28, during the chase.

Paul and Eshom were on foot patrol in black Metro Transit police uniforms when a witness incorrectly identified Harris as a suspect in a nearby assault. When the deputies approached, Harris ran for reasons that remain unclear.

According to eyewitnesses, Paul and Eshom did not identify themselves as law enforcement until after they ran toward him in a dimly lit area, Osborn said.

Sara Jorgenson, Harris’ wife of two years and constant companion since they became high school sweethearts 13 years ago, told reporters her husband was not the type to flee from police.

“He wouldn’t have ran,” she said. “He didn’t know who was chasing him.”

Harris, now housed in a congregant care center, breathes entirely on his own and sometimes opens his eyes but cannot focus, talk or otherwise communicate, a condition from which doctors believe he will never recover, Osborn said.

“It’s not hospice care,” he lawyer added. “He’s not dying.”

Jorgenson said she had quit work to be at his side daily and hoped eventually to be able to bring him home.

“I sit next to the bed all day. I talk to him. I read to him,” Jorgenson said, dabbing the corner of her eyes with a tissue. “I make sure that he’s getting taken care of … anything that you can do.”