nonfatal

Nonfatal is an adjective used to describe events, conditions, or outcomes that do not result in death. It is commonly used in medical, epidemiological, and legal contexts to distinguish injuries, illnesses, or incidents from those that are fatal.

In public health, nonfatal injuries are injuries that do not lead to death, such as sprains, fractures, or lacerations; these counts are collected alongside fatal injuries to assess the total burden of violence or accidents. Nonfatal illnesses include infections or chronic diseases that are survivable, though they may cause lasting disability or morbidity.

A nonfatal outcome may still be severe and impose substantial medical costs, lost productivity, and quality-of-life impacts. Public health metrics often separate fatal and nonfatal burdens; for example, disability-adjusted life years combine years of life lost due to premature death with years lived with disability from nonfatal conditions.

In legal contexts, nonfatal can describe offenses or injuries that do not result in death, such as nonfatal assault or nonfatal gunshot injuries. In research, distinguishing fatal from nonfatal outcomes helps prioritize prevention efforts and allocate resources.

Because nonfatal does not imply insignificance, the term emphasizes survivability rather than severity; it is not a qualitative judgment about harm but a categorical descriptor.