Accidental vs. Negligent

Accidental discharge or Negligent discharge

  • Accidental discharge

    Votes: 19 10.0%

  • Negligent discharge

    Votes: 119 62.6%

  • Don't care, I use them interchangebly

    Votes: 26 13.7%

  • Other, I will explain in post

    Votes: 26 13.7%
  • Total voters
    190
  • Poll closed .
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Not open for further replies.
Accidental is when it happens too fast...negligent is when you don't pull out.
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That made my day :D

I have to throw my hat into the "Accidental is a mechanical failure/Negligent is operator error" ring. Only ever seen one (1) AD...old L.C. Smith double barrel propped up, slid over for whatever reason and threw a load of 00 into the leg of a workbench. Nobody even in the room. Seen plenty of ND's though; generally an "oh s@#t!" moment. I've heard far, far more ND's then I've seen though...hear one go off in the clearing barrel, and without fail a 2ndLT will walk through the door all red-faced. Never fails :D
 
Really, what's next? Having a traffic negligent?
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why is when a gun discharges without intention, it's called negligent, but when there's a car wreck, it's called an accident? either way it's due to someone's careless mistake.
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I understand the argument of relating it to a traffic accident. Could be semantics, although I will mention that in Texas, the wording has changed and there are no more traffic accidents. They have been referred to as 'crashes' since about 2005/2006. To denote someone, or something had caused the crash. Some states have changed theres to 'collision' in similar format.
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In the eyes of the law, there is no such thing as a traffic accident. The term accident is a finding of fact, and as such can only be done by judge or a jury.

When a car hits something, it is a TC, or traffic collision. Or, if you're in the northeast, an MVC, or motor vehicle collision.

Now, it is possible for a TC to be an accident... brake failure approaching an intersection would be an example.

But for the purposes of semantics (which is what this discussion is all about), when a car goes bump into something, it is a collision.
 
negligent is like the dea agent, playing with his gun and pulled the trigger

accidental is if the gun fails and goes off, like you chamber a round and it goes off without you pulling the trigger, dropping it and it goes off, mainly if the gun fails.
 
If you chamber a round or drop the gun and it goes off it's your own darn fault!!! its your gun,ammo, and your hand its in. your responsible for the safe upkeep of all of your firearms and ammo otherwise your negligent.:cuss:

so I guess there really have been No AD's listed in this thread yet, just a bunch of negligent discharges that posters are liable for.


I vote UD or AD
 
Negligent is when the trigger is pulled but the operator did not mean to discharge the firearm.

Accidental is when the firearm discharges due to mechanical failure, at a time when the user does not intend for it to discharge (usually the trigger must not be touched for this term to apply, in my opinion).

If you chamber a round or drop the gun and it goes off it's your own darn fault!!! its your gun,ammo, and your hand its in. your responsible for the safe upkeep of all of your firearms and ammo otherwise your negligent.
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I will disagree to an extent here. All mechanical devices fail, guns included. One cannot foresee all failures before they happen, nor can all mechanical failures be prevented. The key here is that during operations which would most likely result in mechanical failures (such as loading, unloading, cycling the action, or handling the weapon in general), the four rules MUST be observed, so that an accidental discharge caused by a mechanical failure does not result in injury or death.
 
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AD's are: mechanical failure of the weapon, falling on/dropping a non-drop safe weapon, and grabbing at a falling weapon. Basically, anything not resulting from a 4 rules violation.
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Emphasis mine.

I disagree. I knocked my Kimber off the shelf getting something out of the closet. That was an accident.

I caught it. That was negligence.

Thankfully the only things destroyed were my ego, and a rockford fosgate subwoofer. The box is repairable, however I wont do it. I keep it as a reminder.

IMO, an AD is when the gun fires without someone pulling the trigger.
 
Six said:
I think people are confusing negligent with accountable .
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Accountable Discharge. Gonna be lots of confusion with two "ADs."

DISCLAIMER: Above post is for humor only.
 
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No. No "accountable discharge". You are accountable for every bullet that leaves your gun, intentionally or not.

But, it doesn't mean every inadvertent discharge is a negligent one.

If lightning from a clear sky strikes the gun in your hand and sets a round off, you are accountable - you still own that bullet, but are you really negligent?

Some people want to stretch the definition of negligent into the realm of absurdity, without any thought to due diligence or reasonable precautions.

I wonder if any of them are lawyers?
 
Legally:

Negligent discharge - owner is legally responsible and pays damages in civil lawsuit. Undesirable target for lawsuit as usually not worth it to sue as owner doesn't have a lot of money.

Accidental discharge - gun manufacture is legally responsible and pays the damages in civil lawsuit. Desirable target of lawsuit as gun manufacturer has lots of money.
 
Politically:

Negligent discharge - gun owners are idiots and should not have guns.

Accidental discharge - guns are dangerous as they can up and go off on their own. Need to limit the number of guns.
 
AD - What happens to teen-age boys and old folk of both sexes......

ND - What happens when the "stupid" curve intersects the probability curve.....

Firearms - even old ones - are among the safest machines man has ever devised when properly handled in accordance with their design limitations......Just as old cowboys kept the hammer down on the chamber stuffed with 'buryin money' of their six shooters, every one handling a firearm assumes an obligation to be familair with its operational pecularities. >MW
 
No. No "accountable discharge". You are accountable for every bullet that leaves your gun, intentionally or not.

But, it doesn't mean every inadvertent discharge is a negligent one.

If lightning from a clear sky strikes the gun in your hand and sets a round off, you are accountable - you still own that bullet, but are you really negligent?

Some people want to stretch the definition of negligent into the realm of absurdity, without any thought to due diligence or reasonable precautions.

I wonder if any of them are lawyers?
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Sorry. I edited my post to include a humor disclaimer.
 
Nope...The bill in the empty chamber is a myth. Old cowboys loaded all six chambers in their Colts SAAs (if they could afford one). The hammer was placed between loaded chambers. The case heads preventing the cylinder from turning.
 
Was the round intended on not? If not it was an acident! Neglignce can happen if the round was intended or not. So to me all unintentional rounds are either accidental, or accidentally negligent.

I hate the thought of all unintentional rounds are negligent. Accidents can and do happen. Afterall people do not have an auto negligence do they? No its an auto accident.
 
IMO, most auto "accidents" are caused by driver negligence. Short of a act of God or sabotage, I'm hard pressed to come up a scenario that would not be driver, maintainer or manufacturer fault. Same for "unintentionally" fired shots.
 
Well, FMJ, if the mods lock threads because of differing opinions, there ain't gonna be much to talk about.
 
I made this #26. I realize that most forum members disagree with me but I truly believe they are wrong and are playing with fire by routinely saying ND.

AD vs ND.

26. An accident is an unintentional event. When a gun is discharged inadvertently it is an accidental discharge. The use of the term negligent discharge has become popular but it is a bad idea. Yes, the vast majority of ADs involve negligence on the part of the operator but negligence is a legal term that assigns responsibility. Describing your unintentional discharge as negligent is admitting guilt to any cop or lawyer who happens to be listening. Until I am certain that I am not being charged with a crime or sued in civil court I prefer to not admit guilt.
 
"Negligent" all the way. An "accident" is when my infant daughter fills her diaper with poop. It really bothers me when people call negligence an accident... especially when driving cars. "Sorry I killed your wife... it was an accident"... and forget about the fact that they may have been speeding/distracted/intoxicated/careless/self-absorbed/impatient/etc...

They think that because they did not intend to harm someone, that it somehow qualifies as an accident. Wrong. They are aware of the results of their choices, and they chose to do it anyway.

Same goes for a negligent discharge. You know very well what happens when you pull the trigger... the gun fires. You are aware of the reaction to your action. An "accident" would be if a monkey pulled the trigger, not knowing the potential results ahead of time... or a small child for that matter.

Unless it is a rare gun malfunction causing your discharge, it is no accident.

...
 
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