serious illness
Defined in 2 dictionaries — U.S. Code, Cyclopedic (1922)
United States Code
21 U.S.C. § 360I — in this section (8 versions over time)
The terms “serious illness” and “serious injury” mean illness or injury, respectively, that—
(i) is life threatening,
(ii) results in permanent impairment of a body function or permanent damage to a body structure, or
(iii) necessitates medical or surgical intervention to preclude permanent impairment of a body function or permanent damage to a body structure.
The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary
Walter A. Shumaker and George Foster Longsdorf; ed. James C. Cahill · 1922
An illness attended by danger, giving rise to apprehension; any permanent or material impairment of health. The term does not include the ordinary diseases of the country, but refers to those severe attacks which often leave a permanent injury and tend to shorten life. 24 Okla. 218, 20 Ann. Cas. 288; 85 111. 542; 65 Mich. 306, 32 N. W. 610. SERJEANTIA IDEM EST QUOD SERVITlum. Serjeanty is the same as service. Co. Litt. 105.