Australia has a large non‐English speaking industrial work force, with a significant incidence of chronic invalidism following work accidents. Health Services are relatively ineffective in preventing this and often only seem to amplify the problem. The destructive interactions that occur between the accident victim and his family, and health and legal services are described. The phases of this social process, termed the “Accident Victim Syndrome”, are outlined. The implications for effective intervention, for the role in family therapy, and for health care delivery in general are disc