A direct blow to his head sent him crashing to the ground instantly. Sergio didn’t see it coming. After the first punch, he collapsed, unconscious. But the violence continued. Two people emerged from a car and within moments kicked his head, an assault that left him speechless and gravely injured. He was just 21 years old and arrived at the hospital without a heartbeat.
His mother, Eva, learned nothing of the danger at home until hours later. The night of November 22, 2015, found her son at a nightclub in Malgrat de Mar, near Barcelona, amid friends in the early hours. He fought for life in the hospital for days. “Nobody warned me. Not the doctors, not the police,” she recalls. “When I reached the center around noon, my son had already undergone two head surgeries, endured two heart attacks, and needed another operation to remove part of the forehead bone. They froze the bone and he lived without it for three months. He was at risk of a brain event triggered by the trauma.”
After six months in a coma and a year in recovery, Sergio left the hospital. He could not eat, walk, or speak clearly. The legal case added another battle to the long struggle for life. The first case continues as a separate legal war; the other case concluded in 2020, five years after the beating. The Supreme Court upheld five-year prison sentences for two young men who exited the vehicle and violently kicked him. The third participant, who threw the initial punch, received a three-month fine for injuring him.
The court ordered the two defendants to pay damages amounting to 1,263,956.19 euros. The financial penalty included provisions for rehabilitation costs, which Social Security did not cover, and those funds were not disbursed to the family.
Eva describes the early days after the incident: Sergio entered the hospital on November 22, 2015, and remained there for a year. The question of what happened remained painful, but witnesses, friendships, and the investigation helped reconstruct the sequence of events and reveal the severity of the assault.
Beating
Eva explains the moments around the incident: Sergio was in a cloakroom with two older youths. As they left the building, someone warned about a fight and said they were hitting someone. Sergio, briefly tempted to intervene, stepped outside. A punch struck him, knocking him unconscious instantly. He did not look like someone involved in a fight; there were no visible injuries on his clothes. While he lay unconscious, two more attackers got out of a car and began kicking him in the head. The attack lasted a few seconds but nearly claimed his life.
“Mom”
Eva recalls a moment of relief and fear intertwined. Her son had survived the ambulance ride, yet lived with a thread of life. Doctors warned that without careful care, the chance of a vegetative state would be high. Given his age, doctors suggested that future surgeries might be limited. He survived multiple interventions, including a temporary tracheostomy, and spent months in a state of coma. It would be a full year before he could leave the hospital, and even then, movement and basic functions were slow to return. His first meaningful word, spoken after a long struggle, was mom.
“When he fell, the skull opened and the kicks went straight into the brain,” Eva says. Forensic experts noted that the initial punch likely caused some injuries, but the later assaults produced irreversible damage. Three individuals were involved in the confrontation: one who delivered the first hit, and two who joined in with kicks. One confessed in court to the act of wounding, while the others were identified through witness testimony. The five-year sentences in 2020 reflected the gravity of the overall act, including attempted murder for the others and substantial damages.
Social Security offered limited support, with rehabilitation services that could not fully cover Sergio’s needs. The family received a modest amount, but it fell far short of what was required for comprehensive recovery. The state also faced constraints in funding ongoing therapy, which left serious gaps in care.
With perseverance, Sergio underwent neurorehabilitation at the Guttmann Institute. He learned to speak, eat, and breathe with help, gradually shedding some of the dependency in daily life. The road was long and costly, but the progress was real. The family notes ongoing gaps in support, with a constant need to fund private rehabilitation that is not fully covered by public programs. His condition remains fragile, but improvements have been meaningful and tangible.
Money sources dwindled and the family faced the reality of limited financial support. Eva explains the challenge of maintaining care costs while managing daily life. Sergio is now a man facing a future where every month requires careful budgeting to cover therapy, home adaptations, and basic necessities. The numbers are daunting, but the determination persists. The family continues to push for better rehabilitation coverage, hoping for a future where recovery is supported by consistent, adequate resources.
The ongoing fight remains not just for justice, but for adequate rehabilitation and social support. Eva hopes that authorities will recognize the long-term needs of Sergio and others who suffer severe brain injuries, ensuring access to sustained therapy and a fair rehabilitation program that matches the severity of the injuries. The drive to improve his quality of life fuels every day, a reminder that healing often extends beyond the hospital walls and into the very fabric of daily life.