The Municipal Court in Rijeka ruled that the monthly annuity for Mladen Matejčić increases from €623.80 to €1,501, and the insurer must also pay over €20,800 in back differences.
The permanent service of the Municipal Court in Rijeka, located in Opatija, has issued a ruling ordering Croatia osiguranje to nearly double its monthly payment to Mladen Matejčić from Matulji. He is a person who was severely injured in a traffic accident back in 1987. As reported by Fiuman.hr, the court decision raises the current amount of €623.80 to €1,114 for the period from July 1, 2023, through December 31, 2025, while from January 1, 2026, onward, the monthly annuity amounts to €1,501.
In addition to the increased annuity, the insurance company must also settle all back differences, increased by statutory default interest. The principal debt alone, excluding interest, exceeds €20,800. The court also ordered Croatia osiguranje to bear the litigation costs amounting to €5,393.77.
The severe injury occurred on May 26, 1987, when Matejčić, then 14 years old, was a passenger on a moped. The injuries he sustained to his head, pelvis, lower leg, and foot were so serious that by the early 1990s, he was found to have a permanent reduction in life activity of 95 percent, after which he acquired the right to an annuity due to lost earnings. Over the past decades, he has undergone a total of ten surgical procedures and still has an open wound on his heel that does not heal.
The last adjustment to the annuity amount occurred in 2008, when it was set at HRK 4,700, or €623.80 per month. In the new court claim, Matejčić argued that this amount no longer reflects the actual circumstances, since the average salaries in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, which have served as the basis for calculation in all previous proceedings, have since increased significantly.
During the proceedings, Croatia osiguranje did not dispute the fact of the severe injury or the right to an annuity, but insisted on conducting a new medical assessment. They argued that due to nearly four decades having passed since the accident, it was necessary to reassess the plaintiff's health condition and any residual work capacity.
The court accepted this request, and the occupational medicine expert, Prof. Dr. Hrvoje Lalić, after an examination and a detailed review of the entire medical documentation, concluded that Matejčić is unable to perform any kind of work. Leg deformities cause him difficulty walking and constant pain, and he is unable to stand or sit for extended periods. The expert assessed that he is entirely dependent on annuity payments.
The court found that the circumstances have changed significantly since the last annuity increase in 2008. The decisive reason for the new decision was the rise in average net salaries in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County. They have jumped from around €624, which was the previous annuity amount, to over €1,500 in the last quarter of 2025.
In this way, the monthly amount Matejčić receives has been increased by €877.20 compared to the previous annuity. The ruling also orders Croatia osiguranje to pay all back differences starting from July 2023, along with statutory default interest.
