The Ministry of Health has updated the Procedure for Determining the Severity of Damage to Health

The order, which is still in effect, states that if, as a result of the damage caused, a person suffers loss of sight, speech, hearing, any organ (loss of its functions), termination of pregnancy, mental disorder, drug addiction/toxicomania, or permanent disfigurement of the face, then the severity is determined in accordance with paragraph 6. This paragraph of the order states that “damage in the form of abrasions, bruises, wounds that do not result in short-term health problems or minor permanent loss of general ability to work are assessed as damage that does not cause harm to human health.”

After the updated order comes into force, the severity of harm to health in such consequences will be determined in accordance with paragraph 5. It classifies the harm caused to health depending on the severity (serious harm to health, moderate harm to health and minor harm to health). Thus, serious harm to health includes various intracranial injuries, penetrating wounds, fractures (for example, of the hyoid bone, laryngeal cartilage, cervical spine and others), dislocations, thermal, chemical, electrical or radiation burns, frostbite, severe shock, coma of any degree.

The consequences will be considered as damage to health of moderate severity in the case of a long-term health disorder or significant permanent loss of general working capacity by less than one third. Minor damage to health includes such consequences as short-term health disorder, minor permanent loss of general working capacity.

The table of percentages of permanent loss of general working capacity now notes that one of the consequences of forearm dysfunction is a sharp limitation of movement in the wrist or elbow joints. The Ministry of Health has decided that from September 2025, the presence of both limitations will indicate this type of disorder.

The Ministry of Health last changed the Procedure for Determining the Severity of Damage to Health in June 2025. The essence of the adjustments is as follows: now it is possible to record damage to health from medical interventions when there is a “defect” in treatment, and in the new document the term was replaced with a “deficiency” in the provision of medical care. A separate clause also describes complications after medical intervention, where the specific deficiency of medical care for the patient will be taken into account. The order is also valid from September 2025 to September 2031.

The Russian Ministry of Health presented a similar document for public discussion in November 2023. At that time, the department pointed out the need to update the provisions, since the current version of the order was outdated. It was planned that the new Procedure would come into force on September 1, 2024, but that document was never adopted.