Court Reinstates Doctor at Rijeka Hospital

We’re saying Sretan Božić with a 10% discount!

Take advantage of our Xmas offer and get 10% off all courses & lessons – book individual lessons from only 29€ per session or a 12-week group course for just 224€ 249€. Valid until 06.01.2026.

Contact us to claim your discount

The news in Croatian

1. otkaz  (m.)
   Prestanak radnog odnosa po volji poslodavca ili radnika. ↩︎
2. važeći
   Koji je na snazi ili vrijedi. ↩︎
3. šefica  (f.)
   Osoba koja upravlja ili vodi neki posao ili odjel. ↩︎
4. skladištenje  (n.)
   Prostor gdje se roba ili materijal dugo čuva. ↩︎
5. sudski
   Povezano sa sudom ili pravosuđem. ↩︎
6. optužba  (f.)
   Izjava ili tvrdnja da je netko učinio nešto loše ili ilegalno. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: Why was Dr. Ingrid happy about the court’s decision?

Question 2: What was Dr. Ingrid accused of?

Vocabulary

Croatian	English
otkaz  (m.)	dismissal
važeći	valid
šefica  (f.)	boss
skladištenje  (n.)	storage
sudski	judicial
optužba  (f.)	accusation

Read the full story

The Municipal Court in Rijeka has rendered a verdict declaring the dismissal of Dr. Ingrid Belac-Lovasić, the former head of the Clinic for Radiotherapy and Oncology at Rijeka Clinical Hospital Centre (KBC Rijeka), invalid. Consequently, KBC is obligated to reinstate her, although she will not return to her previous leadership position.

Dr. Belac-Lovasić, alongside two other medical staff members, was dismissed in August 2022 following allegations involving the improper storage of chemotherapy drugs and the discovery of various items such as artworks and gifts in hospital storage. These grave accusations led KBC to terminate her contract unexpectedly.

In a statement to the Croatian press agency, Hina, Dr. Belac-Lovasić expressed her satisfaction with the court’s decision, which came after a three-year legal battle. She emphasized that the verdict confirmed her belief that the charges against her were fabricated and motivated by personal animosities. Throughout her ordeal, Dr. Belac-Lovasić maintained her innocence, viewing the accusations as imaginative fabrications.

Further supporting her stance, the Rijeka District Attorney’s Office dismissed the criminal complaint filed against her by the hospital’s management, reinforcing her position that she was subjected to unjust claims.

While the court has obliged KBC to reinstate Dr. Belac-Lovasić, it has not mandated her reappointment as the head of the clinic. Despite this, she looks forward to resuming her professional duties, citing support from family and patients as her motivation through a challenging period marked by media scrutiny.

The decision has highlighted a broader issue of the use of extraordinary dismissals in Croatia’s medical institutions, questioning the transparency and fairness often accompanying such cases.

Info: “Croatian Learner News” is a service from “Let’s Learn Croatian”, a language school dedicated to teaching Croatian. We offer various online Croatian courses tailored to different proficiency levels, including Croatian for beginners.