Rabbi Chaim Elazar Spira of Munkacs , offers another interesting explanation for why we mention Rabbi Meir in times of danger. With regard to various halachot, the presumption in the Talmud is that the majority of sick people continue to live and recover from their illnesses, while the majority of moribund people proceed to die.
However, Rabbi Meir is of the opinion that we don’t just look at the majority of incidents; rather, we also account for minority cases. Thus, according to Rabbi Meir, even if one is in a situation where he may be considered on his deathbed, we still would not consider him destined for death.
