El incidente de enfermedad, también denominado en otros países como estado de salud, es un mecanismo legal derivado de un derecho fundamental inherente a todo ser humano, que es el derecho a la vida, el cual busca garantizar en todo momento que el privado de libertad cuente con una adecuada atención de su salud, estableciendo que si se determina la existencia de un deterioro o daño, que pueda poner en riesgo la salud del privado de libertad por su permanencia en el centro penal, y que ésta no pueda ser tratada dentro del mismo, pueda recibir la atención de salud necesaria para corregirlo, la cual puede ir desde un traslado urgente a un centro de salud especializado, un internamiento o hasta una conmutación de la pena.

The incident of disease also named in other countries as health condition. It`s a legal mechanism from a human right that belongs to every citizen in the world which is the right to life. The incident of disease is one of many ways to guarantee, in every moment, a proper health care for a person condemned by the law. It determines if the imprisoned person himself has an illness as a reason to justify that his or her life is in danger during their deprivation of freedom. If the medical exam practiced by the forensic specialist establishes that the illness that the prisoner presents can be worsened by the imprisonment or if the prisoner needs a specialized medical attention that can only be provided in a hospital, then he or she can be treated out of prison until the illness disappears or the physical condition is as good as to be able to stay in prison.