There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster—Who Profits and Who Pays the Price
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- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Jessie Singer
- ISBN：1982129662
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Summary
A journalist recounts the surprising history of accidents and reveals how they’ve come to define all that’s wrong with America。
We hear it all the time: “Sorry， it was just an accident。” And we’ve been deeply conditioned to just accept that explanation and move on。 But as Jessie Singer argues convincingly: There are no such things as accidents。 The vast majority of mishaps are not random but predictable and preventable。 Singer uncovers just how the term “accident” itself protects those in power and leaves the most vulnerable in harm’s way， preventing investigations， pushing off debts， blaming the victims， diluting anger， and even sparking empathy for the perpetrators。
As the rate of accidental death skyrockets in America， the poor and people of color end up bearing the brunt of the violence and blame， while the powerful use the excuse of the “accident” to avoid consequences for their actions。 Born of the death of her best friend， and the killer who insisted it was an accident， this book is a moving investigation of the sort of tragedies that are all too common， and all too commonly ignored。
In this revelatory book， Singer tracks accidental death in America from turn of the century factories and coal mines to today’s urban highways， rural hospitals， and Superfund sites。 Drawing connections between traffic accidents， accidental opioid overdoses， and accidental oil spills， Singer proves that what we call accidents are hardly random。 Rather， who lives and dies by an accident in America is defined by money and power。 She also presents a variety of actions we can take as individuals and as a society to stem the tide of “accidents”—saving lives and holding the guilty to account。
We hear it all the time: “Sorry， it was just an accident。” And we’ve been deeply conditioned to just accept that explanation and move on。 But as Jessie Singer argues convincingly: There are no such things as accidents。 The vast majority of mishaps are not random but predictable and preventable。 Singer uncovers just how the term “accident” itself protects those in power and leaves the most vulnerable in harm’s way， preventing investigations， pushing off debts， blaming the victims， diluting anger， and even sparking empathy for the perpetrators。
As the rate of accidental death skyrockets in America， the poor and people of color end up bearing the brunt of the violence and blame， while the powerful use the excuse of the “accident” to avoid consequences for their actions。 Born of the death of her best friend， and the killer who insisted it was an accident， this book is a moving investigation of the sort of tragedies that are all too common， and all too commonly ignored。
In this revelatory book， Singer tracks accidental death in America from turn of the century factories and coal mines to today’s urban highways， rural hospitals， and Superfund sites。 Drawing connections between traffic accidents， accidental opioid overdoses， and accidental oil spills， Singer proves that what we call accidents are hardly random。 Rather， who lives and dies by an accident in America is defined by money and power。 She also presents a variety of actions we can take as individuals and as a society to stem the tide of “accidents”—saving lives and holding the guilty to account。
Reviews
Marissa Mizroch
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I cannot recommend this book enough。 It was maybe the most eye opening and infuriating thing I have ever read。 There’s a line that goes something like， “whether you live or die in an ‘accident’ in America is an economic policy decision” and the author proves that thesis page after page， devastating data point after point。I finished this book angry， with the knowledge that the world could be so much safer & kinder。
Nineveh
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3。25 or 3。5 stars really — I have been talking about this book a lot and will continue to think about the patterns and examples brought up in it for a good long while。 The ‘Swiss cheese’ metaphor used throughout the book to explain the layers of protection in place to avoid disaster and how they might fall through was really effective to me。 Singer argues that we need to learn from patterns of death and injury and advocate for safer systems rather than focusing on casting blame and punishment on 3。25 or 3。5 stars really — I have been talking about this book a lot and will continue to think about the patterns and examples brought up in it for a good long while。 The ‘Swiss cheese’ metaphor used throughout the book to explain the layers of protection in place to avoid disaster and how they might fall through was really effective to me。 Singer argues that we need to learn from patterns of death and injury and advocate for safer systems rather than focusing on casting blame and punishment on individuals who end up causing harm （or even sometimes on those who are harmed themselves！） within the context of these risky systems。 The argument is set up very well… and then the book just keeps going on and on with the same stuff。 I would highly recommend reading the first five chapters/120 pages of the book， but there aren’t many new takeaways to glean from the case studies in the remaining chapters。 I will also admit that something didn’t sit right with me in the intro and I thought I might put the book down just as soon as I’d started it， but Chapters 1-5 are really persuasive and well researched and provide a powerful framework through which to consider who we allow to get hurt and who gets to make those decisions in our capitalist country 。。。more
Edson Castilho
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Just brilliant。 But also very depressing。 The way that corporations and their political toadies have rigged the system makes "accidental" death increasingly likely and a problem likely to keep increasing。 A must read。 Just brilliant。 But also very depressing。 The way that corporations and their political toadies have rigged the system makes "accidental" death increasingly likely and a problem likely to keep increasing。 A must read。 。。。more
Wendy
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Interesting read。 Definitely makes you think about how accidents are viewed and who takes the blame or gets blamed。 Also gives a perspective on how government and money controls what actual safety measures are put into place。
Groucho42
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A good book about how "accident" is a term used by corporations to put profit over safety。 A lot I already knew， but there was plenty that was interesting。 Sometimes it struggled a bit， but it's above average。 A good book about how "accident" is a term used by corporations to put profit over safety。 A lot I already knew， but there was plenty that was interesting。 Sometimes it struggled a bit， but it's above average。 。。。more
Alisha
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Should be required reading for City employees。 Thought provoking for many many areas of our work。
Eva
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One of the best books I've ever read。 I think this is the first time non-fiction has made me cry。Timely， lucid， accessible， comprehensive， humane， compassionate， actionable—everyone should read this， particularly those who work in planning and policy。Select quotes:"More than a synonym for a traffic crash or a surprise pregnancy， 'accident' is a euphemism for 'nothing to see here。'" （p。 2）"One in twenty-four people in the United States will die by accident。 And among wealthy nations， the problem One of the best books I've ever read。 I think this is the first time non-fiction has made me cry。Timely， lucid， accessible， comprehensive， humane， compassionate， actionable—everyone should read this， particularly those who work in planning and policy。Select quotes:"More than a synonym for a traffic crash or a surprise pregnancy， 'accident' is a euphemism for 'nothing to see here。'" （p。 2）"One in twenty-four people in the United States will die by accident。 And among wealthy nations， the problem is distinctly American。" （p。 6）"The people who tell the story are always the powerful ones， and the powerful ones are rarely the victims。" （p。 13）"Workplace accidents first declined when accidents began to cost employers money， because then， for a corporation， making the workplace safe was cheaper than paying for accidents。" （p。 60）"Accidents in America come in two sizes， relative to likelihood。 Most are small and frequent—a drug overdose， a traffic crash， Some are big and rare—an oil spill， a plane crash。" （p。 66）"All accidents are systemic， but to understand some of the systems， we will need to zoom far out from one man falling off an oil rig， or another， flush with cash， taking too much of a drug。 Racism is a system， and so is stigmatization， and so is the federal infrastructure budget。" （p。 85）"A speed limit is the perceived safe speed of a road， not the actual risk of traveling that speed on that road。" （p。 95）"Corporations recall products， from Tylenol to Cheerios， all the time—by government force， or voluntarily， in anticipation of government force。 Yet guns never are recalled， because they have a unique privilege: no government agency polices their safety。 There are no federal standards for gun design。" （p。 99）"Society ostracizes stigmatized people for a characteristic that becomes all-encompassing—a single trait dictates how we judge a whole person。 And， importantly， when something goes wrong， the stigmatized， because of their flawed character， are blamed。" （p。 109）"Finding fault in a person smells like justice and feels like a book being closed。 It makes sense that we seek it。 But failing to prevent the preventable results in a vast and deadly unfairness—and one outcome is the wildly unequal rate at which people are killed by accident because of racism。" （p。 129）"Every human action in a built environment is a product of that environment。" （p。 131）"We need to see accidents from the perspective of those involved， and we especially need to see accidents from the perspective of those harmed。" （p。 131）"In 2019， on average， U。S。 drivers killed twenty-one pedestrians every day。 Disproportionately， the dead were Latino， Black， and Indigenous。 The rate of accidental pedestrian death is 87 percent higher for Latino people， 93 percent higher for Black people， and 171 percent higher for Indigenous people than it is for white people。 Black people are more likely to be found at fault walking in the street， less likely to be offered justice if killed there， and more likely to be killed there。" （p。 138）"Throughout history， when the economy was booming， accidental death also peaked。 Nationwide， more income inequality means more accidental death。" （p。 155）"Whether we live or die by accident is an economic policy decision。" （p。 156）"We can pay the cost to avoid an accident or pay more for the consequences after an accident—but because we consider these accidents， we rarely do the math。" （p。 156）"Economic geography so strongly affects accidental death rates that people who live in poverty in rich places live longer than equally poor people who live in poor places。 Wealth is a risk insulator and poverty is a risk amplifier。" （p。 168）"One of the reasons that we don't spend money to protect people from accidents is the same reason that many Americans blame poor people for their poverty: the human error explanation absolves us of the responsibility。 But blaming human error is also a well-documented cognitive bias that helps us see an unjust world as just。 This bias—known as the 'just world fallacy'—helps us feel more comfortable in a cruel world by focusing on individual behavior to explain systemic failures and structural inequality。 In particular， we zero in on anything that reinforces the belief that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people。 In short， the fallacy is believing that the world is fair。" （p。 169）"If the people atop the social order believe in poverty as a form of justice， and poor people more often die by accident， then nothing could or should be done about accidents。 In fact， by this logic， accidents are good—a righteous punishment for bad actions or weak character。" （p。 171）"The ability to keep the uncontrollable world at bay is quite a power—which is one reason we blame victims most of all: because the dead cannot contest that power。" （p。 174）"Researchers have found that people have a strong urge to agree about who is to blame in any given accident—and that when some outspoken accuser presents blame in public， everyone else tends to support that view。 Eyewitness statements influence other eyewitness statements so powerfully that hearing whom someone else blames can change your memory of who you thought was to blame。" （p。 179）"Fixing the problem means there is a problem。 Blaming someone means there is no problem at all。" （p。 185）"The chief consequence of blame is the prevention of prevention。 In finding fault with a person， the case of any given accident appears closed。" （p。 185）"Putting aside blame is the first step to changing the environments that put us at risk。" （p。 188）"The litigious society is a myth invented by corporations to protect corporations。" （p。 238）"It is an act of love to demand accountability for the dead。 And it takes rage to prevent the same accidents from happening again。" （p。 245）"Accidents are not a design problem—we know how to design the built environment to prevent death and injury in accidents。 And accidents are not a regulatory problem—we know the regulations that will reduce the accidental death toll。 Rather， accidents are a political and social problem。 To prevent them， we only need the will to redesign our systems， the courage to confront our worst inclinations， and the strength to rein in the powerful who allow accidents to happen。" （p。 250）"Blame is a food chain。 Always look to the top。" （p。 255）"Every accident is born of overlaid failures。" （p。 255）"Today， hundreds of thousands of lives， an uncountable number of life-altering injuries， and the threat of immeasurable environmental destruction rest on our acceptance that blaming the individual is best， that bad things happen to bad people， and that somehow personal responsibility will save us all。 But seeing accidents for what they are means refusing to accept anything as an accident anymore。 Because nothing is an accident。 Nothing ever was。" （p。 256） 。。。more
Seth
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Amazing work here by Jessie Singer。 The deregulation of american capitalist's has hurt the american worker for too long， I hope enough people get this message so that things can change Amazing work here by Jessie Singer。 The deregulation of american capitalist's has hurt the american worker for too long， I hope enough people get this message so that things can change 。。。more
Ayelet
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I found this fascinating。 It's crazy how many factors we could change if only we were willing。 I'm not sure I believe there are no accidents at all but I see how the term should be used much less often。 I appreciated all of the real world examples。 I found this fascinating。 It's crazy how many factors we could change if only we were willing。 I'm not sure I believe there are no accidents at all but I see how the term should be used much less often。 I appreciated all of the real world examples。 。。。more
Les
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Very well researched。 A very different perspective on how society had structured itself and the dominance of capital over everything， including human life。
Dan Castrigano
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Really， really great。 Outlines how greed and profit and capitalism and government corruption allow for the "accidental" deaths and injuries of thousands upon thousands of people every year。 Much of the book is about cars and safe streets， but it also features research on airplanes， drugs， and guns， among other things。 People killed in "accidents" （Singer calls these "scare quotes"） are disproportionately low-income people and people of color - lives seen as disposable by giant corporations， lobb Really， really great。 Outlines how greed and profit and capitalism and government corruption allow for the "accidental" deaths and injuries of thousands upon thousands of people every year。 Much of the book is about cars and safe streets， but it also features research on airplanes， drugs， and guns， among other things。 People killed in "accidents" （Singer calls these "scare quotes"） are disproportionately low-income people and people of color - lives seen as disposable by giant corporations， lobbyists， and corrupt politicians。The study by Heidelberg University that Singer mentioned on p。 187 was great - as it hammered home how cyclists are prematurely blamed for their deaths:"The bicycle helmet is such a predominant manifestation of blame in cycling accidents in the United States that a researcher at Heidelberg University in Germany was inspired to track it。 He analyzed the bicycle safety advice of twenty-five U。S。 cities; the overhyping of helmets was so common that he declared it a 'a fixation。' Blame was central to the fixation， with helmet-oriented safety advice more likely to be both moralizing and given special attention-exclamations， italics， graphic depictions-where other safety advice was stated plainly。 The helmet， he concluded， is a way to see the death of a cyclist as an accident， to lay blame as a handy distraction from the central and systemic dangerous condition: cars can kill people。" 。。。more
Ellery
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Excellent writing on an important subject; the brainwashing of the American public on how unnecessary loss of life is just “what happens。” We can choose to change it if we push to prioritize life above profits。 Nothing is an accident。 Read this book。
Ronnie
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This is a damnable good book。 I heard about it from Hélène 。 I listened to the podcast with Jessica and Ralph。 It was a good push to get the book which I was lucky to get it via the Leominster Public Library which I am indebted to。 This book and its presentations are haunting in tias premise。 No one is safe。 Its a book to read during the day。 This is because ghosts can't seen visually in the light。。。But at night。。。Things do go bump in the dark。 This is a damnable good book。 I heard about it from Hélène 。 I listened to the podcast with Jessica and Ralph。 It was a good push to get the book which I was lucky to get it via the Leominster Public Library which I am indebted to。 This book and its presentations are haunting in tias premise。 No one is safe。 Its a book to read during the day。 This is because ghosts can't seen visually in the light。。。But at night。。。Things do go bump in the dark。 。。。more
BookStarRaven
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Quick Take: Many accidents can be prevented if we solve the systemic problems that caused the accidents in the first place。There are No Accidents by Jessie Singer is a reframing of the word “accident。” What does it mean to die or be seriously I injured by “accident？” What is an “accident？” Who gets to lead the narrative after an “accident？” These are the questions Singer strives to answer in her book。After Singer’s best friend died by being hit by a drunk driver， she began to question the nature Quick Take: Many accidents can be prevented if we solve the systemic problems that caused the accidents in the first place。There are No Accidents by Jessie Singer is a reframing of the word “accident。” What does it mean to die or be seriously I injured by “accident？” What is an “accident？” Who gets to lead the narrative after an “accident？” These are the questions Singer strives to answer in her book。After Singer’s best friend died by being hit by a drunk driver， she began to question the nature of accidents。 She found that often the transgressor gets to define what happens after someone is seriously injured or killed。 In her friend's case， the drunk driver said he was going slower than he was and drank less。 In a macro sense， companies and governments often claim people are injured in “accidents” when it was in fact a systemic problem not human error。 One of the issues with blaming accidents on human error vs。 a system is that unless something is changed WITHIN the system， accidents will happen again and again。 In some ways， this book reminded me of what happens with Boeing in Flying Blind by Peter Robison。 During the Boeing 737 Max accidents， Boeing blamed the pilots instead of their own company’s systematic errors that were actually at fault。 Many uses of the word “accident” are explored in this book including “accidental” overdose， car “accident”， “accidental” fire， etc。 Singer also explores how racism， poverty and stigma affect whether something is considered and “accident” or not。I picked this book up on a whim and am glad I did。 I will never think about the word accident in the same way and will forevermore consider the system forces at play when it comes to “accidents。” I would recommend this book to everyone。Rating: 4/5Genre: Non-Fiction 。。。more
Andy Janes
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Really good， but also fairly depressing。 The author gave some solutions but I felt pretty hopeless as the book ended。
Cody Garcia
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This is one of best books I’ve read this year， well-paced， interesting， and accessible， and is the most important book I’ll read for longer。 Everyone should read this， from my field of city planning to those in law， medicine， others in positions of power， and those who have to deal with the repercussions of their acts。 I will recommend this to everyone I know and beyond。
Erin
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Infuriating
Nathan
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Eye openingThis book taught me about an amazing legacy - brilliant people who worked for decades to protect lives and the corporations who risk lives for profit。 It's given me new ways of approaching my work as an engineer， my life as an American， and my place in my local community。 This is "Moneyball" for daily American life。 Eye openingThis book taught me about an amazing legacy - brilliant people who worked for decades to protect lives and the corporations who risk lives for profit。 It's given me new ways of approaching my work as an engineer， my life as an American， and my place in my local community。 This is "Moneyball" for daily American life。 。。。more
Peggy Price
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I will never look at the environment and how we live in it in the same way。 A new critical eye and astonishment at how unsafe and uncaring so much if our world really is。
Jackson
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I know the trite thing is to say you think everyone should read whatever book you just read but this is some of the best political analysis I’ve ever read and I can’t recommend this book enough。 For the record I am an impulsive used book buyer who has refused on principle to buy a new book in years and this has been the single exception。 An extremely valuable and important piece of writing。
Armin Samii
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Many software companies have a rule: on your first week on the job， you must push code to production。 That sounds dangerous: someone with 40 hours of experience is not yet skilled enough to avoid bugs in their code！ But the reason is simple: there should be enough safeguards in place that even a relative stranger to the company should be able to safely make a change without anything breaking。 What would happen if we applied that philosophy to the rest of our world？ Where instead of blaming the n Many software companies have a rule: on your first week on the job， you must push code to production。 That sounds dangerous: someone with 40 hours of experience is not yet skilled enough to avoid bugs in their code！ But the reason is simple: there should be enough safeguards in place that even a relative stranger to the company should be able to safely make a change without anything breaking。 What would happen if we applied that philosophy to the rest of our world？ Where instead of blaming the new kid for creating a bug， we look at the processes that made it possible for that to happen？ Shouldn’t there have been more safeguards to prevent the inevitable？I read a lot of nonfiction books that feel like they could have been summarized in a Medium article， where 300 pages should have been 60 （or， like， 4）。 This is not one of those books。 Every chapter taught me something new。The book has a clear bias。 I don’t think it’s going to change any minds。 It will give a language to people like me， who know there’s something wrong but don’t have the words or data to back it up。When a neighbor dies riding on a street that we’ve been calling unsafe for years- we know that’s not an accident。 Until this book， I have sought retribution: the driver who hit the bicyclist should be punished。 But now I see my error: if we knew the road was unsafe， how much can you blame the driver？ Is it like blaming the first-week coder？ Certainly there should be some punishment…but the punishment doesn’t even enter the equation when it comes to prevention。 So I’d rather not focus on the driver at all， maybe？One note about the bias: there are a lot of statistics in this book。 They almost always feel cherry-picked to prove a point。 Sometimes we compare numbers per capita， sometimes by total count unnormalized， and it seems to be based on whichever makes the point better。 That being said: you can throw out all stats in this book and the point would still be the same， so this didn’t bother me much。 （I did wish that the book had more charts and graphs， instead of describing data in text）。TL;DR if you think society should be doing more to prevent predictable accidents， read this book。 If you think we should have more monster trucks in our cities， even if it means a few dead kids， maybe skip this one。 。。。more
Jess
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Some interesting points， but you could literally keep picking apart dangers until people lived in bubbles。
Anna
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I learned so much while reading this book。 While ambitiously tackling large， abstract topics， Singer's writing is admirably incisive and persuasive。 She builds her case with facts and makes you care with empathy。 Singer is both poignant and pithy， and this versatility made for a compelling page turner。 The frameworks that Singer uses to build her argument are clearly explained and insightfully applied。 I found myself energized with love and rage during and after reading。 Such a useful and inspir I learned so much while reading this book。 While ambitiously tackling large， abstract topics， Singer's writing is admirably incisive and persuasive。 She builds her case with facts and makes you care with empathy。 Singer is both poignant and pithy， and this versatility made for a compelling page turner。 The frameworks that Singer uses to build her argument are clearly explained and insightfully applied。 I found myself energized with love and rage during and after reading。 Such a useful and inspiring book！ 。。。more
Judy
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Motivated by the death of her friend who was struck by a car while on a bike path in NYC， the author examines how what we call "accidents" are often cases of poor engineering。 With our built environment privileging cars， we tend to accept deaths of pedestrians and bicyclists instead of engineering our streets to protect them。 I found the book thought-provoking。 Motivated by the death of her friend who was struck by a car while on a bike path in NYC， the author examines how what we call "accidents" are often cases of poor engineering。 With our built environment privileging cars， we tend to accept deaths of pedestrians and bicyclists instead of engineering our streets to protect them。 I found the book thought-provoking。 。。。more
Aaron G。 Paquette
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This is a great book， definitely makes me think about how I think about accidents。 The title of the book is somewhat misleading， I think her conclusion is more that most accidents are preventable。 Or accidents that are predictable or inevitable maybe shouldn't be viewed as accidents first， but as addressable failures to be remedied。 I would like to see a more nuanced approach to the cost of preventing accidents。 As a society we have to deal with the reality that some things may have some inheren This is a great book， definitely makes me think about how I think about accidents。 The title of the book is somewhat misleading， I think her conclusion is more that most accidents are preventable。 Or accidents that are predictable or inevitable maybe shouldn't be viewed as accidents first， but as addressable failures to be remedied。 I would like to see a more nuanced approach to the cost of preventing accidents。 As a society we have to deal with the reality that some things may have some inherent risk that we accept， but how do we come to terms with that？ We should take all reasonable precautions but inherently some things like space travel for the time being is going to involve large risk。I do wish she went into more detail about the fears around driverless cars， I think there are some real concerns here but if done right could increase safety。 She even brings up driver automation systems like automatic braking being an important next step， so I don't necessarily think that more driver automation systems are to be dismissed。 Self driving cars definitely aren't there yet and the ethics of testing them on the street or lack of regulation specific to address them is problematic。 I don't think these systems should be dismissed as they have some potential even if they may not be the panacea we are being sold。 。。。more
John Singer
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Riveting， entertaining and amazing。 This is a really good read。
Jose
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