Bottle Openers
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.
Containers, Tableware & Packaging · CPSC Code 422
Down 28% over 5 years
The verdict
Bottle Openers carry a danger score of 27/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 224 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 28% over the last five years.
- 27/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 224
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 422 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 27/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for bottle openers - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume224 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-28%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Bottle Openers (CPSC product code 422, in the Containers, Tableware & Packaging category) generate an estimated 224 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 4,487 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 27/100 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 28% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2017 (458 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2014 (29 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for bottle openers is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 1,697 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (869 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,428 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 3.9% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 7 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how bottle openers 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 | 37 | 0 | |
| 5-14 | 225 | 89 | |
| 15-24 | 710 | 269 | |
| 25-34 | 902 | 526 | |
| 35-44 | 265 | 197 | |
| 45-54 | 153 | 186 | |
| 55-64 | 350 | 138 | |
| 65-74 | 129 | 163 | |
| 75+ | 74 | 67 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Finger | Contusions, Abr. | |
| All Parts Body | Poisoning | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Laceration | |
| Hand | Puncture | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Strain, Sprain | |
| Foot | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
59YOM PRESENTS WITH RIGHT HAND PAIN AND SWELLING. PT BUMPED HIS HAND A WEEK AGO ON A BOTTLE OPENER IN A BAR AND CONTINUES TO HAVE REDNESS, SWELLING AND PAIN WITH MOVEMENT. DX: CONTUSION LEFT HAND, CELLULITIS LEFT HAND
16YOF PRESENTS WITH 2-3CM SUPERFICIAL LACERATION TO THE MEDIAL ASPECT OF THE RIGH PALM SUSTAINED AFTER ATTEMPTING TO OPEN A BOTTLE. DX: LACERATION SUPERFICIAL PALMAR ARCH RIGHT HAND
56YOM PRESENTED TO ED C.O HEAD INJURY, PER *** PT WAS HITTING HIMSELF WITH A BOTTLE OPENER +ALCOHOL INTOXICATION BAL N/S DX; ALCOHOL USE WITH INTOXICATION
33 YOF WAS USING A BOTTLE OPENER JUST PRIOR TO ARRIVAL AND IT SLIPPED CAUSING A LACERATION TO BACK OF LEFT HAND. DX: HAND LACERATION
22 YOM REPORTS CUTTING HIS FINGER ON A BOTTLE OPENER. DX: ABRASION
16YOM CUT RIGHT MIDDLE FINGER ON A BOTTLE OPENER DX: LACERATION TO FINGER
21YOM, SLASHED FINGER ON BOTTLE OPENER OPENING A GLASS BOTTLE DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT THUMB
30YOF HAD BEEN DRINKING ALCOHOL AND WENT TO OPEN A BOTTLE OF WINE AND LACERATED HER LEFT HAND WITH THE BOTTLE OPENER. BAL NS DX: LACERATION OF LEFT HAND
25YOF LAC HAND OPENING BOTTLE OPENER. DX: LAC OF RIGHT HAND
4YOM HIT CHIN ON WINE BOTTLE OPENER DX CHIN LACERATION
15YOM WAS OPENIGN A BOTTLE WITH A BOTTLE OPENER AND THE CAP STRUCK HIM IN THE RIGHT EYE DX: CORNEAL ABRASION
31YOM W/LAC R HAND. THIS OCCURRED SEVERAL HOURS AGO AT HOME WHEN HE SLIPPED WHILE USING A BOTTLE OPENER. DX: R HAND LAC
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
We had purchased the SUTMM wine bottle opener which pressurises the wine bottle via a needle through the court and a small hand pump. My wife inserted the needle as instructed gave theyre open or three pumps in the bottle shattered scattering glass and wine over our kitchen. This occurred the first and only time we used the device.
I purchased a wine bottle opener named cork genius from Amazon that injects air pressure into the bottle through a needle inserted through the cork, I watched their instruction video and thought it was actually a great idea and ordered one. A few days after I received it on March 30th/22, I went to the store and purchased a couple of wine bottles and went home to use the cork genius for the first time, I watched their instructional video again to make sure I was going to use it correctly, I started pumping slowly because I wanted to count how many pumps were needed before the cork would pop out, but it took only 3.5 pumps for the bottle to violently explode in my face causing me a deep gash in my left-hand index finger, the bottle exploded so violently that the entire area was doused with wine, the kitchen counter, the floor, the wall in front of the bottle and the cabinet doors behind myself wich are 3 feet away from the counter. I proceeded to wrap my finger with some gauze and put pressure on it for at least 20 minutes to try to stop the bleeding, I disinfected the wound and put some bandage around it. I thought that was going to be the end of it, but a few days later, my finger started swelling and hurting so much that it forced me to go to ER where I spent more than three hours having a sliver of glass removed from my finger. I'm glad that I decided to pump air into that bottle slowly because if I had done it as fast as they show on their instructional video, the gash on my finger could've been a lot worse as that would've required to put a lot more pressure on the bottle to hold it down in place. I posted a review on Amazon, but they deleted it because I was talking about my injury and not reviewing the product according to them. I also reached out to the seller, but they never bothered to answer my email. To this day July 4th/22, I still have a kind of callus on my finger that prevents me from using it with 100% comfort.
SKYBAR WINE OPENER: the encase needle part broke off from the stainless steel shaft, leaving a sharp edge. The could cut someone who was pumping it. Too expensive to break this way.
Skybar wine opener exploded bottle while using to remove cork
While attempting to open a bottle of wine with our newly purchased opener, the handle snapped off the corkscrew and scratched my boyfriend.
I used my Crate and Barrel Rabbit Style wine opener to open a bottle of wine on Sunday, October 22, 2017. this involves pushing down and pulling back the lever. The push down inserts the screw, the pull back removes the cork. As I was finishing the pull back the lever fractured in my hand, and the broken lever lacerated the lower joint of my thumb, which bled profusely. I staunched the bleeding with normal first aid procedures but it was a painful wound which could have been dangerous given the profusion of arteries and nerves in that part of the body. On 10 23, I reported the incident to Crate&Barrel's customer service website and got a reply asking me for order details. I replied that it was a gift and could not supply them. C&B replied on 10/24 they couldn't help me without the order details. On 10/24 I replied that I considered this a product defect and asked them to forward our exchange to their legal department. I haven't heard back.
Wine bottle opener manufactured by SUNBEAM PRODUCTS- the wine bottle exploded while trying to open it. I suffered two cuts to my fingers, ruined my clothes, stained my table cover and stained the kitchen wall. The bottle opener - Make- SUNBEAM- Model NBSKWA2600
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to bottle openers on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are bottle openers?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, bottle openers have a danger score of 27/100 (low risk). An estimated 224 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from bottle openers?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 1,697 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from bottle openers increasing or decreasing?
Down 28% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for bottle openers injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,428 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by bottle openers?
Of all ER visits involving bottle openers, approximately 3.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with bottle openers?
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 Containers, Tableware & Packaging
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 27/100 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.
