For example, a death caused by an illicit drug overdose may be ruled a death by misadventure, as the user took the risk of drug usage voluntarily. Misadventure is a form of unnatural death, a category that also includes accidental death, suicide, and homicide.

In situations labelled as a “death by misadventure,” the deceased is understood to have voluntarily undertaken some sort of risk that led to their untimely end—a fact that distinguishes this term from a ruling like “accidental death.”

Similarly, if a person dies due to a medical complication during a surgery, it may be considered a misadventure if the doctors followed all the necessary protocols and procedures. Misadventure is different from manslaughter, which involves a death caused by criminal negligence or recklessness.

Misadventure in English law, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, is a death that is primarily attributed to an accident that occurred due to a risk that was taken voluntarily.