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Anaccidental death is anunnatural death that is caused by anaccident, such as aslip and fall,traffic collision, or accidentalpoisoning. Accidental deaths are distinguished fromdeath by natural causes,disease, and from intentionalhomicides andsuicide. An accidental death can still be considered a homicide or suicide if a person was the unintentional cause.
For criminal purposes, intentional homicides are usually classified asmurder. Exceptions such asself-defense vary byjurisdiction, and in some cases, persons accused of murder have asserted as a defense that the deceased was actually the victim of an accidental death, rather than an intentional act. However, a person who is responsible for the accidental death of another throughnegligence may still be criminally liable formanslaughter, andcivilly liable forwrongful death.Accidental death and dismemberment insurance and similarinsurance policies pay a benefit in the event of accidental death,[1] With these policies it must be demonstrated that a given death is in fact an accident, rather than an intentional suicide or homicide (which might involveinsurance fraud).
The "vast majority of accidents are not really accidents of chance, but rather accidents of folly, negligence, and blatant human misjudgment".[2] TheCenters for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in the US in 2015, there were 146,571 "unintentional injury deaths" that year, the fourth leading cause of death. Of those, 47,478 were from unintentional poisoning, 37,757 were from traffic accidents, and 33,381 were from falls.[3] Approximately 500,000 deaths due todrowning are reported annually, worldwide.[4]
In a couple of countries, all accidental deaths (or apparently accidental deaths) are investigated by government bodies, and sometimes a family will do aprivate investigation.[5]Inquests in England and Wales, for example, are held into sudden and unexplained deaths, and afatal accident inquiry is performed for accidental death inScotland. A verdict of "accidental death", in such cases, is returned when there is no contributory factor from an action or omission of the victim ("death by misadventure") or by another person ("unlawful killing").
Deaths duringwartime, due to imprecise or incorrect targeting, may be euphemistically termedcollateral damage, or the result offriendly fire.
