Basic Trope: Bad luck saves a life.
- Straight: Bob is driving his son Nate to school, but fails to get there on time after a flat tire and getting stuck in traffic. When Bob finally does get there, he finds out that there was a shooting at the school, killing 4 kids and injuring several others.
- Exaggerated: Bob is driving his son Nate to the hospital after finding out he has brain cancer. Nate dies, and Bob tearfully leaves after saying his last goodbyes. As soon as he gets home, he finds out the hospital was bombed by a terrorist, and there were no survivors.
- Downplayed: Bob is forced to work on one of his days off. Hours later, he receives an urgent call from his wife, who informs him that the house caught on fire, but she (and Nate) are unharmed.
- Justified: This trope can be Truth in Television.
- Inverted: Alice is informed that she is experiencing an ectopic pregnancy, and it is very unlikely that her baby will live. However, the baby does live...But Alice does not.
- Subverted: Bob's son Nate arrives late to the school, only to find out there was a shooting. However, the shooter is actually still there, and shoots Nate in the head.
- Double Subverted: Bob suddenly appears, beats the shooter to death, and speed-demons his way to the emergency room. Nate miraculously survives.
- Parodied: Every time Bob has to work on one of his days off, his house gets destroyed by a meteorite.
- Zig-Zagged: Bob appears after his son Nate is shot in the head, and Nate survives after being taken to the ER...but he is declared legally brain-dead.
- Averted: Bob is not late when driving his son Nate to school.
- Enforced:
- The writer wants An Aesop: "Remember, kids: No matter how bad life is treating you, it could always be much worse.
- Bob is the series Butt-Monkey and the writers decided to make his lousy luck have a silver lining for once.
- Lampshaded:Nate: Dad, we're gonna be late!Radio: We Interrupt This Program to announce that there has been a shooting at Troperville Elementary!
- Invoked: N/A; this trope is never intentional.
- Exploited/Defied: N/A; It can't be predicted either.
- Discussed: "School shooting? At least you weren't there, son." "Whoa, good for us, that flat tire."
- Conversed: "Like the one time when I missed the bus and the bus I would have taken crashed, only two survivors...these two guys and me are kinda similar!"
Plane crash? Whoa, missing the plane was really a Lifesaving Misfortune for me! Let's go back there!
