There is an obvious model of this, I call it the "can of worms" model. When something is contained under pressure and the container cracks, odds are that more than a single worm will get out, and it is much harder to put the worms back in than to keep them in. This model describes some very diverse phenomena, like nuclear fission, glass breaking, contested divorce, social revolution, etc. That said, I am not sure how applying this model can help one avoid this pitfall.