Waiting to Happen: The Sociology of Unexpected Injuries

By Lorne Tepperman and Nicole Meredith

Public health researchers, insurance companies, and statisticians have long understood the curious patterns underlying unexpected injuries. Sociologists have more recently been drawn to this field of study, using data from a range of sources to explore the social causes and consequences of "accidents" - or, more accurately, unexpected injuries. We have developed multiple strategies for depicting such events as unavoidable, inevitable, acceptable, and even "normal." However, research on health, safety, and injury prevention tells a very different story.

There are surprising patterns that structure seemingly random events. Understanding these patterns allows us to help prevent unexpected injuries. Lorne Tepperman and Nicole Meredith offer a sociological view of the most recent available research, complemented by Meredith's first-hand experience with unexpected injuries and rehabilitation over seven years of intensive training at Canada's National Ballet School.

Tepperman and Meredith consider the circumstances of unexpected injuries, the types of people who most commonly fall victim to them, as well as the associated human and social costs. They evaluate the most common contexts for accidents. And they engage with a debate surrounding "accident proneness."

Students and scholars of sociology--as well as victims of unexpected injuries of any kind--will be fascinated by this evaluation of a significant social problem that remains poorly understood, despite its far-reaching consequences.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199012067
• ISBN13: 9780199012060
• Release Date: December 2015
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"