Reply #78: I wouldn't belabor that point too hard

[Euromutt]

I don't like to swing a dictionary to make a point, but the Random House dictionary defines an accident as "an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss." More significantly, we routinely refer to motor vehicle collisions as "accidents" even though those occur almost entirely due to negligence on the part of one or more drivers. Lane drift, for example, is the leading cause of fatal collisions on highways, and that's not because there's something wrong with the steering mechanisms.

Though that said, you can make a fair distinction between plain old negligence and criminal negligence. As a rule of thumb, I'd say having the gun unintentionally discharge was negligent; having it discharge while the muzzle was covering two family members was criminally negligent.