Illness unintended

Technological advances have made unintended consequences almost inevitable. Like a phantom in a bag that pops out in every direction that isn t held, secondary effects that are masked by primary effects assume much more importance when the primary effects are conquered (Tenner, 1996). Chronic illnesses such as cancer, silicosis, and cumulative trauma disorder probably were not recognized as important because acute illnesses such as typhoid, plague, and pneumonia killed so many. After anesthetics allowed painless surgery, the number of surgical procedures skyrocketed and the total amount of pain experienced by the total human population is higher because of it. 

An occurrence in a sequence of events that may produce unintended injury, illness, death, and/or property damage. The term often implies that the event was not preventable. From a loss prevention perspective, use of this term is discouraged since occupational injuries and Ulnesses should be considered preventable, and the use of incident is recommended instead. See also Incident. 

Adverse describes a negative consequence of care that results in unintended injury or illness, which may or may not have been preventable. 

The confusion related to the term accident led to use of the term unintended. Now the preferred terms are unintended injuries, unintended illnesses and unintended deaths. Also influencing the change in terms were workplace violence cases involving intentional incidents and consequences. Such cases don t fit the idea of accidents. 

An accident is the occurrence of a sequence of events that usually produces unintended injury or illness, death, or property damage. 

The National Safety Council (USA) defines an accident as that occurrence in a sequence of events that usually produces unintended injury or illness, or death and/or property damage. This definition, too, refers to the contact and exchange of energy where the harm is done as the accident phase of the sequence of events. The entire sequence of events, the loss causation sequence, is the accident The unintended injury referred to is caused by the exchange of energy. 

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