In analyzing the time course of error, a 'near miss' refers to which of the following?

• A. An adverse event in which the damage is limited
• B. An error was committed, but was corrected before damage resulted
• C. A minor problem resulting from normal routine work that resulted in minor damage
• D. An error that can be viewed as distributed in the social world and thereby diffused before tragedy strikes

Answer: (B)

In this context, a near miss is an error that could have caused harm but was caught or corrected before any damage occurred. That’s exactly what the description “an error was committed, but was corrected before damage resulted” conveys. It reflects learning from mistakes without actual harm, which is central to proactive safety analysis.

The other descriptions describe harm that did occur: an adverse event with limited damage still involved harm, a minor problem with minor damage is still damage, and the idea of the error being socialized and diffused before tragedy doesn’t align with the standard near-miss concept, which focuses on prevention of harm through timely correction.