What really is 人身事故?


What really is 人身事故【じんしんじこ】 (jinshin-jiko) we often hear at train stations?
Some say that it always means that somebody just threw him/herself onto a
train track and got killed. Others say that it's just any kind of train
accident that involves humans; it doesn't necessarily means somebody lost
him/her life in it.




It is technically any "accident causing injury or death" however as your
question points out it is generally accepted in society that it means that
there was a fatal injury. In the event that this is displayed on the monitors
it means that the train company had to stop train service (or later service is
delayed) to deal with the accident.

Anecdotal: A friend of mine slipped in the gap between the train and the
platforms and train service was temporarily suspended as a 人身事故




It is technically any "accident causing injury or death" however as your
question points out it is generally accepted in society that it means that
there was a fatal injury. In the event that this is displayed on the monitors
it means that the train company had to stop train service (or later service is
delayed) to deal with the accident.

Anecdotal: A friend of mine slipped in the gap between the train and the
platforms and train service was temporarily suspended as a 人身事故

