Core aspects of diagnosis and prognosis are based on the knowledge of the actual state-of-damage. Every mechanical system damage increases due to applied stresses. This contribution focuses on systems being affected by mechanical loads, leading to failure if a certain damage level is exceeded. According to the literature, mathematical models are known that describe qualitatively the damage progression based on experimental data. Hence, those models are valid for certain systems under certain operating conditions and depend on the underlying experimental data. The intention of this contribution is to calculate with a general model the damage progression for different load histories, independent from specific load collective-based experiments. One novel aspect is to conclude from failures of individuals of a considered set of systems used with individual load profiles to the underlying, problem/application-specific damage accumulation relation. This is done by a nonlinear mathematical model, calculating the caused damage due to the applied stress. Costly and/or safety relevant systems are not subject of this investigation but mechanical (e.g., friction, wear, etc.) systems.