Accident
From Wikinfo
- Alternate meanings: Accident (movie), Accident, Maryland
An accident is something going wrong. Physical examples include an unintended collision (including a person or object unintendedly falling, and including a gun going off unintendedly or pointing in the wrong direction or while unintendedly containing a bullet), getting injured by touching something sharp, getting injured by not properly landing when jumping, etc. Non-physical examples are unintendedly revealing a secret or otherwise saying something stupid, forgetting an appointment, etc.
Often accidents are investigated so that we can learn how to avoid them in the future. This is sometimes called root cause analysis.
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Work accident
An accident at work is defined as an external, sudden and violent event, during the execution of work or arising out of it, which causes damage to the health of or loss of the life of the employee (the insured).
For qualification as an accident at work to apply, there must be a causal relationship (direct or indirect relationship of cause and effect) between the violent event and the work. Only if the accident is due to "wilful misrepresentation" on the part of the employer or the employer's appointed representative is the employer under an obligation to compensate the victim.
There is a significant proportion of work accidents occurring in the merchant marine.
See also: social security.
Bicycle accidents
A bicycle accident, an incident in which a bicycle ride goes wrong, can result in injury to the rider or another person in their path, and damage to the bicycle or nearby things. In 1842, an accident occurred which has been described as the earliest bicycle accident. Kirkpatrick McMillan, the inventor of the velocipede (an early bicycle), rode his new invention for 40 miles from his home to Glasgow. On his approach to the city, crowds gathered on the road and unfortunately Kirkpatrick collided with a young girl.
Although she was only very slightly injured, he was subsequently charged with causing the first ever bicycle accident. The judge could not believe Kirkpatrick had travelled the 40 miles to Glasgow in only five hours, but after much explaining, he was allowed to return home.
External link
- "Kirkpatrick McMillan and the Bicycle" - an opinion article from the Plainview Herald, by Robert R. McMillan, dated Friday, June 18, 1999
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Accident" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
