Industrial accidents: an economic interpretation.

An accident is commonly held to be an event which occurs by chance; it may even be defined as such. Closer investigation of a random sample of factory accidents has give support to this view. Controversy over the preventability of accidents, and whether accidents serve the interests of false or true economy, is sufficient justification for attempting an economic interpretation of industrial accidents. An analogy between the accidental injury of an employee and the breakdown of a machine is the basis for the attempt.