HARM TO HEALTH – CHALLENGES IN DEFINITION

Determining the severity of harm caused to a person’s health is one of the primary tasks addressed in forensic medical examinations, both in criminal, administrative, and even civil legal proceedings. Previously, the definition of the term “harm to health” (or its synonym, “bodily injury”) was explicitly provided in the relevant regulatory legal act. However, as of September 1, 2025, the legal system no longer includes an official definition of “harm to health.” This situation inevitably raises several questions: Was the exclusion of this definition justified? Which definition should be used in practice? And, more fundamentally, does the absence of a statutory definition of “harm to health” constitute a genuine problem? To address these issues arising from the current legal gap, a study was undertaken with the central objective of determining which definition of “harm to health” should be applied in the practical work of forensic medical experts—or, indeed, whether any of the available definitions can be deemed suitable. To this end, a historical, comparative, and logical analysis of existing definitions of “harm to health” was conducted. The study conclusively demonstrated that the current regulatory legal act governing the assessment of the severity of harm to health must necessarily include a clear, legally binding definition of the term “harm to health.”