Legal Definitions - fortuitous

Definition: Occurring by chance.

A fortuitous event may be either fortunate or unfortunate. The term is often misused as a synonym for fortunate, but it is actually neutral.

• Winning the lottery is a fortuitous event.
• Getting into a car accident on the way to work is also a fortuitous event.

These examples illustrate the definition of fortuitous because both winning the lottery and getting into a car accident are events that occur by chance. However, winning the lottery is typically seen as fortunate, while getting into a car accident is unfortunate. This shows that fortuitous does not necessarily mean lucky or unlucky, but simply refers to events that happen by chance.