Billiards Or Pool (activity, Apparel Or Equipment)
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.
Sports & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1260
Down 30% over 5 years
The verdict
Billiards Or Pool (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 35/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 3,647 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 30% over the last five years.
- 35/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 3,647
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 5.5%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1260 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 35/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume3,647 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)5.5%
- Fatality rate0.19%
- 5-year trend-30%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Billiards Or Pool (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 1260, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 3,647 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 72,944 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 35/100 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 30% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2005 (5,878 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2021 (1,973 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment) is strain, sprain to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 5,608 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (5,526 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 14,178 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 5.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.19%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment) 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 | 2,689 | 1,800 | |
| 5-14 | 8,291 | 5,852 | |
| 15-24 | 8,545 | 3,766 | |
| 25-34 | 10,549 | 3,629 | |
| 35-44 | 7,260 | 2,797 | |
| 45-54 | 5,214 | 1,942 | |
| 55-64 | 3,815 | 1,429 | |
| 65-74 | 1,902 | 781 | |
| 75+ | 2,307 | 374 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Finger | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
19YOM W/R LATERAL ANKLE PAIN&SWELLING. HE STS A POOL CUE FELL OFF OF A WALL & STRUCK HIM IN THE R ANKLE YEST. OCCURRED AT A FRIENDS HOUSE. DX: RIGHT ANKLE SPRAIN
30 YOF STATES THAT SHE SLIPPED AND FELL, CUTTING HER KNEE ON A SHARP EDGE OF HER POOL TABLE AT HOME JUST PRIOR TO ARRIVAL. DX: KNEE LAC
11 YOM HE & FRIENDS WERE LIFTING A POOL TABLE TO MOVE IT WHEN HE DROPPED IT ON HIS RT THIGH. HAS PAIN IN THIGH. DX: CONTUSION
66 YOF MOVING A POOL TABLE AND FELL D X; CHI, L LOWER LEG LAC
27YOM PRESENTS WITH LACERATION TO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD AFTER BEING HIT IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH A POOL CUE. DENIES LOC. DX: INJURY OF HEAD. (LEFT WITHOUT BEING DISCHARGED)
30YOF WAS OUT PLAYING POOL LAST NIGHT AND WAS DRINKING CRANBERRY JUICE AND THINKS THAT SOMEBODY PUT SOMETHING IN IT BECAUSE SHE DEVELOPED NUMBNESS AND SHAKING ALL OVER WITH TACHYCARDIA NAUSEA AND VOMITING STATES SHE IS ON PROBATION AND NOT SUPPOSED TO BE DRINKING OR USING DRUGS URINE DRUG SCREEN POSITIVE FOR MARIJUANA DX: CANNABIS USE WITH ANXIETY DISORDER
64YOM PRESENTS WITH NECK PAIN AFTER HE WAS PLAYING POOL WEDNESDAY LIFTED UP HIS HEAD AND FELT A SPASM ALONG THE MUSCLES OF HIS NECK. DX: TORTICOLLIS
58YOM WAS AT A FRIEND'S HOUSE PLAYING POOL IN HIS GARAGE WHEN HE DEVELOPED LIGHTHEADEDNESS AND FELT LIKE HE WAS GOING TO PASS OUT HAD A NEAR SYNCOPAL EVENT ADMITTED TO RULE OUT ACS DX: NEAR SYNCOPE; ATRIAL FIBRILLATION WITH RVR
6YOF WAS PLAYING BILLIARDS AND WAS STANDING WITH HER FACE BY THE TABLE AND THEY BALL STRUCK HER IN THE FACE DX: CONTUSION FACE
52YOF WAS PLAYING POOL WHEN SHE FELT THE PULL IN HER CHEST DX: CHEST WALL PAIN
72YOM PATIENT WAS DRINKING AT A BAR AND PLAYING POOL WHEN HE HAD A SYNCOPAL EPISODE WHERE SOMEONE HELPED HIM TO THE GROUND. BAL 49. DX: SYNCOPE
22YOF C/O RIGHT HAND AND WRIST INJURY AND S/P PT STATES 5 DAYS AGO SHE WAS PLAYING POOL AND ACCIDENTALLY PUNCHED THE METAL PART OF THE TABLE WITH HER RIGHT HAND. DX: RIGHT HANDAND WRIST INJURY
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 35/100 (low risk). An estimated 3,647 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is strain, sprain to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 5,608 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Down 30% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 14,178 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 5.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (94.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with billiards or pool (activity, apparel or equipment)?
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 Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 35/100 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 25-34 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.
