A mother had to take out a whopping £15,000 loan to get her son home after he fell 40ft from a hotel balcony.
Will Hannington, 23, jetted off with his friends to Dubrovnik in Croatia on September 24 for a week-long holiday.
But things took a turn when he returned from dinner on the third evening with his pals and went onto the balcony to pass something to his friend’s balcony next door.
Will, who works as a furniture delivery driver, slipped on the wet balcony floor and toppled over the edge.
He fell 40ft from the fourth floor and ‘smashed’ his femur, fractured his rib and vertebrae and damaged his kidneys and spinal cord.
The young man had to undergo an emergency five-hour surgery, to have a metal road inserted into his femur, and then woke up in intensive care in a Croatian hospital.
Despite taking out holiday insurance, his claim was denied, and his mother, Sarah Hannington, 52, forked out a £15,000 loan so she could hire emergency transport to get her son back to the UK.
The mother-of-two from Basildon, Essex, says despite Will taking out holiday insurance, by a provider Sarah doesn’t want to name, his injury claim was denied and classed as ‘self-risk behaviour’.
Will Hannington, 23, jetted off with his friends to Dubrovnik in Croatia on September 24 for a week-long holiday
The mother-of-two from Basildon, Essex, says despite Will taking out holiday insurance, by a provider Sarah doesn’t want to name, they denied his injury claim and classed it as ‘self-risk behaviour’
Sarah, who works for the NHS, was able to use Will’s European Health Insurance Card [EHIC] to cover Croatian surgery costs and his stay in intensive care which cost another 15,000 euros.
Sarah said: ‘They [Will and his friends] were all in rooms adjacent to each other. Will’s friend had asked him to throw something across to him on the next balcony.
‘The balconies were lower and he leant around to throw it to his friend and as he did it was quite damp and his feet slipped and he toppled over.
‘Will video called me in the early hours of the morning to tell me what had happened.
‘I didn’t realise the height he had fallen from [at first]. He was in shock, distress and pain and he was putting a brave face on for me.
‘It wasn’t just a broken leg. It was an intense fall. I prayed to God that I still had a son. It’s a miracle he’s alive.’
She is now now speaking out about her son’s accident to urge others to ensure they have an EHIC and to always check the small print on their travel insurance.
‘I’m glad he had his EHIC as this allowed him to be treated as a national in the country,’ Sarah said.
![Sarah said: 'They [Will and his friends] were all in rooms adjacent to each other. Will's friend had asked him to throw something across to him on the next balcony.'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/10/17/10/103070965-15201223-image-a-15_1760691674173.jpg)
Sarah said: ‘They [Will and his friends] were all in rooms adjacent to each other. Will’s friend had asked him to throw something across to him on the next balcony.’
‘The intensive care and surgery cost ran into 15,000 euros on its own so if we didn’t have the EHIC we would be facing this too.
‘When I got in touch with the insurance company, I just thought we’d be able to get Will home but after a week they declined the claim on the basis that they saw it as self-risk behaviour.
‘It had been ruled out by the hotel that he wasn’t being silly and it was an accident and they had sent off their risk report to the insurance company.
‘It made me angry [that the claim was denied] because I had lost a week to get him home.
‘He had his EHIC and insurance and did everything you were meant to do as a sensible person.
‘An accident is an accident and you’d think it would be covered but it wasn’t. It made me wonder what the point of having holiday insurance was.’
Sarah flew to be with her son in Croatia on September 29 and the pair travelled across eight countries in an ambulance for 30 hours to get back to the UK.
Will was transferred onto the trauma ward at The Royal London Hospital, in London, and has had further surgery.
Sarah flew to be with her son in Croatia on September 29 and the pair travelled across eight countries in an ambulance for 30 hours to get back to the UK
He currently has no movement in his right leg or left foot and has not got out of the hospital bed since his accident.
Following surgery, he will then undergo extensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation and have to wear a back brace for around six months to help him walk again.
Before taking out the loan, one of Sarah’s friends unknowingly set up a GoFundMe page to help rally together the funds to get Will home.
She says any money now raised through the fundraiser will go towards reimbursing the loan money to lessen the financial burden on the family.
Sarah said: ‘We are just looking forward now and hoping he’ll be able to walk again and make a full recovery and go back to work.
‘If you’re going to go to a European destination you need to have an EHIC and check the small print in your insurance.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .