[1] The appellant and respondent were the defendant and plaintiff in the court below and I shall refer to them as such. The plaintiff sued the defendant, who is a gynaecologist and obstetrician, for damages for performing a sterilisation procedure on her on 4 November 2004 to which she had allegedly not consented. The sterilisation procedure in question is known as a bilateral tubal ligation. The trial judge upheld the claim and awarded her damages of R410 172,35 comprising R4 000 for past medical expenses, R200 000 as general damages, R198 172,35 for future medical expenses and R8 000 for loss of future earnings.