Legal & Medical Glossary

LEGAL TERMS

Apportionment of damages

Verdeling van skadevergoeding
The court’s process of allocating fault between parties and reducing the plaintiff’s recoverable damages to the extent that the plaintiff’s own fault contributed to the harm, or where multiple wrongdoers share responsibility.

“But for” test

Die “maar-vir” toets
A test for factual causation asking whether the harm would have occurred but for the defendant’s negligent act or omission.

Contributory negligence

Medebydraende nalatigheid
Fault on the part of the injured person where their unreasonable conduct contributed to the harm suffered, potentially reducing the damages recoverable.

Curator ad litem

Kurator ad litem
A person appointed by the court to represent and protect the interests of someone who cannot properly conduct litigation themselves in a specific case.

Curator bonis

Kurator bonis
A person appointed by the court to manage the property and financial affairs of someone who lacks legal capacity to do so.

Factual causation

Feitelike kousaliteit
Whether the defendant’s act or omission actually caused the harm as a matter of fact (often assessed using the “but for” test).

Informed consent

Ingeligte toestemming
A patient’s free and voluntary authorisation of a specific examination, procedure or treatment given by a patient with capacity after receiving sufficient, understandable information about:

• the nature and purpose of the intervention,
• the material risks and possible complications,
• the expected benefits, and
• reasonable alternatives (including no treatment),
  so that the patient can make a real and meaningful choice.
  Ingeligte toestemming is die pasiënt se vrye en vrywillige toestemming tot ’n spesifieke ondersoek, prosedure of behandeling, gegee deur ’n pasiënt met wilsbekwaamheid, nadat voldoende en verstaanbare inligting verskaf is oor:
• die aard en doel van die ingryping,
• die wesenlike risiko’s en moontlike komplikasies,
• die verwagte voordele, en
• redelike alternatiewe (insluitend geen behandeling),
  sodat die pasiënt ’n werklike en betekenisvolle keuse kan maak.

Legal causation

Regs-kousaliteit
Whether the law considers the harm sufficiently closely connected to the defendant’s conduct that it is fair and reasonable to impose liability, even if factual causation is present.

Material risk

Wesenlike risiko
A risk is material if (a) a reasonable person in the patient’s position would likely attach significance to it, or (b) the clinician knows or should reasonably know that this particular patient would likely attach significance to it (for example, because of the patient’s circumstances, values, occupation, or expressed concerns).
’n Risiko is wesenlik indien (a) ’n redelike persoon in die pasiënt se posisie dit waarskynlik as belangrik sou beskou, of (b) die klinikus weet, of redelikerwys behoort te weet, dat hierdie spesifieke pasiënt dit waarskynlik as belangrik sou beskou.

Negligence

Nalatigheid
A failure to exercise the degree of care, skill and diligence that a reasonable person (or, in clinical contexts, a reasonably competent practitioner in that field) would have exercised in the circumstances, resulting in harm.

Onus of proof (burden of proof)

Bewyslas
The duty on a party (usually the plaintiff) to prove the elements of their case to the required standard (typically on a balance of probabilities in civil matters).

Prescription

Verjaring
The legal rule that a claim may become unenforceable if legal proceedings are not instituted within a prescribed time period, generally running from when the creditor had (or is deemed to have had) knowledge of the material facts and the identity of the debtor.
Verjaring is die regsreël dat ’n eis nie meer afdwingbaar kan wees indien regsaksie nie binne die voorgeskrewe tydperk ingestel word nie, gewoonlik vanaf wanneer die eiser kennis gehad het (of geag word kennis te hê) van die wesenlike feite en die identiteit van die skuldenaar.

Reasonable foreseeability

Redelike voorsienbaarheid
Whether a reasonable person (or practitioner) in those circumstances would have foreseen the risk of harm and taken reasonable steps to prevent it. Foreseeability commonly features in negligence and in causation analyses.

Vicarious liability

Plaasvervangende aanspreeklikheid
When a person or entity (often an employer, hospital, or practice) is held liable for the wrongful acts or omissions of another (often an employee) committed in the course and scope of employment.

Wrongful birth

Onregmatige geboorte
A claim by parents alleging that, but for negligent advice, counselling, testing or failure to diagnose, they would have avoided the birth of a child with serious disabilities (often framed around loss of choice and the financial consequences associated with the disability).

Wrongful pregnancy

Onregmatige swangerskap
A claim arising where negligent sterilisation, contraception or advice results in an unplanned (usually healthy) pregnancy and birth.

MEDICAL TERMS – BIRTH & NEONATAL

APGAR scores

APGAR-tellings
A quick scoring system at 1 and 5 minutes after birth assessing a newborn’s heart rate, breathing, colour, muscle tone and response to stimulation.

Brachial plexus injury / Erb’s palsy

Brakiale pleksusbesering / Erb se verlamming
Injury to the nerve network supplying the arm, usually around the shoulder, causing weakness, sensory loss or paralysis of the arm.

Cardiotocograph (CTG)

Kardiotokograaf (KTG)
Monitoring that records the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions during pregnancy and labour.

Cerebral palsy

Serebrale gestremdheid
A group of permanent disorders of movement and posture caused by injury or abnormal development of the brain early in life.

Foetal distress

Fetale nood
Clinical signs suggesting the fetus is not coping well, often due to reduced oxygenation, requiring prompt assessment and management.

Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE)

Hipoksies-ischemiese enkefalopatie
Brain dysfunction/injury in a newborn caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow around the time of birth.

Neonatal encephalopathy

Neonatale enkefalopatie
A clinical syndrome of disturbed neurological function in a newborn soon after birth (for example altered tone, seizures, feeding or respiratory difficulties), from various causes.

Pre-eclampsia / eclampsia

Pre-eklampsie / eklampsie
Pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders; pre-eclampsia includes high blood pressure with organ involvement (often proteinuria), and eclampsia includes seizures.

Shoulder dystocia

Skouerdistokie
An obstetric emergency where the shoulders become impacted after delivery of the head, requiring specific manoeuvres to deliver the baby safely.

MEDICAL TERMS – INFECTION & ICU

Sepsis / septic shock

Sepsis / septiese skok
A life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated response to infection; septic shock includes severe circulatory and metabolic abnormalities, typically with persistent low blood pressure requiring support.

Intra-operative monitoring

Intra-operatiewe monitering
Continuous monitoring of key physiological parameters during surgery and anaesthesia (for example blood pressure, heart rate, oxygenation and ventilation).

MEDICAL TERMS – SURGICAL & ANAESTHETIC

Adhesions and bowel obstruction

Adhesies en dermobstruksie
Bands of scar tissue (adhesions) that can cause the bowel to kink or obstruct, sometimes leading to pain, vomiting and inability to pass stool or gas.

High spinal (complication of spinal anaesthetic)

Hoë spinale blok
Excessive spread of spinal anaesthetic causing profound low blood pressure and breathing difficulty, potentially requiring urgent support.

Perforated viscus

Geperforeerde holorgaan
A full-thickness hole in a hollow organ (such as the stomach or bowel) leading to leakage into the abdominal cavity and risk of severe infection.

Post-operative haemorrhage

Postoperatiewe bloeding
Significant bleeding after surgery which may require urgent intervention, transfusion, or re-operation.