Crippled

Crippled is the state a character is in after having been reduced to 0 health. When crippled, a character drops to his or her knees and the camera pulls out to third-person. While in this state, a character has a short time to be revived or achieve a Second Wind before dying. Accuracy with any gun is largely reduced when crippled so it is advised to switch to a weapon which has extremely high accuracy or splash damage for the best chance of being revived.

The main problem is if you attempt to kill a small, weak enemy for a second wind you are highly likely to miss them. When trying to kill a larger stronger enemy, you will likely hit them but may not kill them in time.

Holding a certain button or key will allow you to respawn early.
 * Brick's Die Hard skill extends the amount of time you have to get a Second Wind when Crippled.