Beach Chairs Or Folding Chairs
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Floors, Walls & Ceilings · CPSC Code 4016
Down 10% over 5 years
The verdict
Beach Chairs Or Folding Chairs carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 8,032 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 10% over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 8,032
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 5.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 4016 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for beach chairs or folding chairs - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume8,032 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)5.2%
- Fatality rate0.05%
- 5-year trend-10%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Beach Chairs Or Folding Chairs (CPSC product code 4016, in the Floors, Walls & Ceilings category) generate an estimated 8,032 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 160,642 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 10% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (10,039 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2021 (6,628 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for beach chairs or folding chairs is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 15,230 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (13,630 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 32,255 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 5.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.05%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 117 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how beach chairs or folding chairs fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 17,115 | 15,140 | |
| 5-14 | 9,266 | 8,817 | |
| 15-24 | 4,077 | 4,917 | |
| 25-34 | 3,897 | 5,635 | |
| 35-44 | 5,284 | 8,206 | |
| 45-54 | 5,184 | 10,942 | |
| 55-64 | 6,478 | 11,409 | |
| 65-74 | 8,156 | 11,185 | |
| 75+ | 10,218 | 14,718 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Finger | Amputation |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
82YOF STS FINGER CAUGHT IN A FOLDING CHAIR YESTERDAY, SUSTAINED A PINCHED BLOOD BLISTER, THEN WHILE DANCING FINGER WAS SQUEEZED AND IT BROKE OPEN, HAS PERSISTENT BLEEDING+FINGER LACERATION DX L 5TH FINGER LACERATION
50YOF COMES TO THE ER WITH COMPLAINTS OF KNEE PAIN. SHE STATES SHE WAS GETTING INTO LOUNGE CHAIR, ON A CRUISE SHIP, AND THE CHAIR WAS LOWER THAN EXPECTED. SHE TWISTED HER RIGHT KNEE AND FELL PART OF THE WAY INTO THE CHAIR . X-RAYS DONE ON THE SHIP WERE NEGATIVE BUT SHE CONTINUES TO HAVE PAIN. DX: PAIN KNEE RIGHT
74YOF WAS AT BEACH WHEN A HEAVY GUST OF WIND GRABBED A BEACH CHAIR AND FLUNG IT AGAINST HER RIGHT ARM DX:FRACTURED RIGHT RADIUS
10MOM HAS A SMALL LEFT 5TH FINGERTIP LACERATION AND SUBUNGUAL HEMATOMA AFTER A FOLDING CHAIR CLASPED ON FINGER DX: FINGER LACERATION, SUBUNGUAL HEMATOMA OF FINGER
79 YOF AFTER A FALL. PATIENT STATES THAT SHE WAS SITTING IN A FOLDING CHAIR, LEANED FORWARD WHEN THE CHAIR FELL OVER. SHE HIT THE RIGHT SIDE OF HER HEAD ON A SHARP OBJECT AND SUSTAINED A LACERATION. DX SCALP LAC, FALL
18MOF WENT TO SIT IN A FOLDING CHAIR IN A PUBLIC PLACE AND IT COLLAPSED SHE FELL BACKWARDS STRIKING HEAD ON THE GROUND DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY
78YOF WAS GETTING OUT OF A LAWN CHAIR WHEN SHE LOST HER BALANCE AND FELL DX: FRACTURED RIGHT HUMERUS, CLOSED HEAD INJURY
88YOF WAS GETTING OUT OF A BEACH CHAIR AND FELL STRIKING HER HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY FRACTURED THORACIC SPINE
5YOM TO ER AFTER FALL OFF FOLDING CHAIR AT HOME 1 HR AGO, PT FELL ONTO RIGHT ELBOW , PT HAS RIGHT ELBOW PAIN DX PAIN RIGHT ELBOW
36YOM C/O FINGER LACERATION AND PAIN TO RIGHT HAND S/P PT STATES TWO COMPLAINTS. ONE, HE PINCHED HIS FINGER IN A FOLDING STADIUM CHAIR CAUSING A LACERATION ON HIS FINGER. TWO, HE WAS WAS INVOLVED IN AN MVC LAST NIGHT WHERE HE WAS REARENDED AND HAS WORSENING RINGING IN HIS EARS. NO MENTION OF PT'S RESTRAINED IN CAR NOR AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT. DX: HEAD INJURY, FINGER LACERATION AND TINNITUS
76YOF SAYS 10 DAYS GAGO WAS STANDING ON A FOLDING CHAIR IN HER BATHROOM & PUTTING UP A SHOWER CURTAIN & FELL ON HER BATHROOM SINK ON HER CHEST PT HAS CHEST PAIN ON RIGHT SIDE STILL FROM FALL, NO HEAD INJURY DX FALL, CLSD FRACTURE OF ONE RIB ON RIGHT SIDE
63YOF PRESENTED AFTER FALLING OUT OF A LAWN CHAIR, ONTO THE CONCRETE. THE PT WAS CONFUSED AND UNSURE WHAT LED TO HER FALLING OUT OF THE CHAIR. ABRASION NOTED TO THE ELBOW. DX: ACUTE PAIN OF RT SHOULDER, RT ELBOW PAIN, FALL FROM CHAIR.
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Adirondack plastic molded chairs with cell phone and cup holder molded in frame from Home Depot are unsteady and legs bow out even on very light weight people. The chairs move and "settle" under every person that sits in the chair. At one point the back legs to a chair were completley flattened. There has not been an injury yet, but I do see this as a danger.
IKEA GUNDE folding chair (https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/gunde-folding-chair-black-00217797/). Chair is lightweight and not stable. When person sitting leans forward (weight toward front of chair), the chair will either slip (when on hardwood or vinyl)and/or tip forward (carpet). Personal experience - Both adults and children have fallen multiple times using these chairs on multiple occasions. Many consumers have had the same issue per the reviews on the company website for this item.
My husband was sitting upright in a beach in a Rio Beach Big Kahuna Beach Chair ( https://rio.shelterlogic.com/rio-beach-big-kahuna-beach-chair ) when suddenly the back of the chair collapsed and he fell back to the ground. Upon inspection, one side of the back metal support of the chair had broken in half where it met the arm rest. Luckily the chair was on sand, but if he had been on a hard surface he would have been seriously injured. This was only our fourth use of the chair, and it was only used by my husband who is 60lbs under the advertised weight limit for the chair.
This consumer purchased two fabric lawn chairs around the end of May or first part of June 2019. August 31st, 2019 Incident Date she was sitting in one of the chairs in her back yard on grass when the seat just gave way. She did not hit the grass/ground only because she caught herself with her arms. The weight limit for the chair is 250 pounds and the caller's weight is 170.pounds. She is not using the second chair and she has removed it from her back yard and placed both chairs in her basement. Not a webbed chair, it is a fabric chair. There are no injuries being reported She contacted the retailer's corporate headquarters August 31st, 2019 and their representative provided her with the manufacturer's contact phone number. She called the manufacturer's contact number, she left a message but she has not as of September 5th, 2019 received a return call.
We had a very chaotic incident last night when our dog, [REDACTED] got his paw stuck in the front opening at the bottom of the frame of our GCI rocker style lawn chair while I was rocked back. My first instinct was to get out of the chair which constricted that area further and pinched it even more, causing him to be stuck. He was yelping and crying like I have never heard.All three of us were trying to get his paw out. In pain and a panic, he bit my husband several times on both hands.
I've bought 5 or 6 of the gray foldable chairs from costco, and I have some complaints about them. First off, the backing fell off VERY EASILY in less than a year ON EACH CHAIR. And when it begins to detach, the backing where it attaches has VERY SHARP EDGES. My kids have gotten cut a number of times handling the backs of those chairs. Plus, even when the backing of the chair fully falls off, it leaves one or two VERY SHARP shreds of metal, to which people can ALSO get cut just by handling them. They need to recall these and make stronger products.
I received a Tommy Bahama beach chair see below link. The arms that support the chair fell off and fell apart causing me to backwards and falling to the ground. This chair is dangerous https://www.tommybahama.com/en/Highboy-Chair-with-Shade/p/SH481147-220
Was walking and tripped over the toddler camping chair when it impalled my leg.
Showing 8 of 117 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to beach chairs or folding chairs on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are beach chairs or folding chairs?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, beach chairs or folding chairs have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 8,032 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from beach chairs or folding chairs?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 15,230 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from beach chairs or folding chairs increasing or decreasing?
Down 10% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for beach chairs or folding chairs injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 32,255 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by beach chairs or folding chairs?
Of all ER visits involving beach chairs or folding chairs, approximately 5.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (94.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with beach chairs or folding chairs?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Floors, Walls & Ceilings
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 0-4 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.