Cabinets, Racks, Room Dividers And Shelves, Nec
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 4056
Down 12% over 5 years
The verdict
Cabinets, Racks, Room Dividers And Shelves, Nec carry a danger score of 44/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 149,827 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 12% over the last five years.
- 44/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 149,827
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 5.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 4056 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 44/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume149,827 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)5.7%
- Fatality rate0.02%
- 5-year trend-12%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Cabinets, Racks, Room Dividers And Shelves, Nec (CPSC product code 4056, in the Floors, Walls & Ceilings category) generate an estimated 149,827 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 3.0M ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 44/100 for this category (moderate 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 12% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (166,683 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (129,128 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 452,736 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (342,537 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 514,726 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 5.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.02%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 211 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec 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 | 316,110 | 198,616 | |
| 5-14 | 190,062 | 141,001 | |
| 15-24 | 124,283 | 139,964 | |
| 25-34 | 139,043 | 176,876 | |
| 35-44 | 127,460 | 173,952 | |
| 45-54 | 118,418 | 178,513 | |
| 55-64 | 107,005 | 172,168 | |
| 65-74 | 94,283 | 164,852 | |
| 75+ | 140,014 | 293,617 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
77YOM TURNED A CORNER TOO QUICKLY AND HE ACCIDENTIALLY HIT HIS HEAD ON A SHELF AT HIS HOME. DX: HEAD LACERATION
37YOF COMPLAINS OF CONTUSION AND HEADACHE AFTER HITTING HER HEAD ON A CABINET A FEW DAYS AGO. CONCERNED SHE MAY OF HAD A CONCUSSION. DX: FOREHEAD CONTUSION, CLOSED HEAD INJURY
50 YOM BIBA S/P FALL WHILE WALKING IN HIS HOME YESTERDAY. HIT HIS HEAD AGAINST A BOOKSHELF AND WAS NOT ABLE TO GET UP HIMSELF. DX CVA
27YOF HAD A CABINET DOOR OPEN UP INTO RIGHT KNEE DX:DISLOCATION KNEE
85YOM HAD A SLIP AND FALL STRIKING BACK OF HIS HEAD ON SHELF AT REHAB CENTER DX:CLOSED HEAD INJURY ABRASION TO SCALP
6YOM CHILD SLIPPED AND HIT THE BACK OF HIS HEAD ON A CABINET DX: LACERATION OF SCALP
53YOM,TRIPPED AN FELL ONTO CABINET AN INJURED RIB,DRINKING ALCOHOL,+ETOH BA N/A,DX:ETOH,FX RIB
19MOF FELL AT DAYCARE STRIKING LIP ON BOOK SHELF DX: LIP LACERATION
52 YOF STATES KITCHEN CABINETS FELL OFF THE WALL AND ONTO HER THIS MORNING, PUSHING HER INTO A WALL. DX: FOOT AND LEG CONTUSION, CHEST CONTUSION, NECK PAIN, CLOSED HEAD INJURY
4YOM PRESENTS WITH FOREHEAD LACERATION S/P PT HIT HIS FOREHEAD ON THE CORNER OF THE ENTERTAINMENT CENTER. DX: FOREHEAD LACERATION
63YOM C/O FRACTURED RIBS AND CONTUSION TO RIBS S/P PT STATES HE HAD A MECHANICAL INJURY WHEN HITTING HIS LEFT SIDE INTO AN OPEN CABINET DOOR. DX: CONTUSION AND CLOSED FRACTURE TO RIBS
6YOM, REPORTEDLY A FOSSIL ROCK FELL OFF A SHELF HITTING HIS HEAD, DX: LACERATION OF SCALP
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
The bookshelf was secured to the wall with the safety wall anchor that is supposed to protect my child and prevent tipover. It did not my child attempted to reach something on the third shelf and the entire bookshelf fell on top of her. Luckily a curtain holdback on an adjacent wall caught the bookshelf and stopped it from completely crushing my child. She is okay, she has bruising on her forehead and arm. Many items on the shelf and bedroom were ruined due to the collapse. The bottom line is, this product was supposed to be safe and we installed the safety anchor as instructed and it failed. The design flaw is the safety strap,which was still anchored to the wall but detached from the back of the bookcase. This could have been a much worse incident and I don't want this happening to someone else.
two children hanging on the side of a free standing costume organizer and it flipped to the side and crushed both preschool children.
The base of the bookcase collapsed in the middle of the night. This caused the bookcase to tip over with all the contents inside.
We recently purchased the Rockwell 6-drawer bookcase (item 780759) from the online Pottery Barn Teen store. The bookcase is metal and lovely but very problematic. The six double-sided drawers have a design flaw. Nothing prevents the drawers from stopping and therefore falling out. We were setting up our new bookcase tonight and my 12-year-old son added an item to one of the drawers, and it fell out and landed on his foot. He is fine and there was no damage. There weren't many items in the drawer yet. If a consumer uses these drawers for books, a child could get seriously injured. As noted, the unit and drawers are metal. With nothing stopping the drawers from falling out, it could easily and quickly become dangerous.
Bathroom Medicine Vanity Cabinet with 3 mirror doors. Made by Rangair Manufacturing Co LP Model number 755435 The mirrors on the doors are glued on. The center mirror fell off and cracked and shatter over the bathroom sink with a loud noise. If I was brushing my teeth, I would have sultaned serious lacerations.
We purchased several items from Ikea 4 years ago. We installed I double wide free standing pantry in the kitchen. Two weeks ago, this pantry...which weighed several hundred pounds...began to tilt over toward me. before I could react, the unit collapsed straight down upon itself, sparing me from certain injury. After two weeks of phone calls, Ikea's response is that it was installed incorrectly 4 years ago by their contractor and they do not care about the danger involved. I am incredulous that two weeks later, their customer service is more concerned about not honoring a warranty then coming here to investigate how the accident occurred. I also find it ironic that they are now saying the free standing unit should have been anchored to the wall, when it did not come with that option, nor did their installer think it was needed.
IKEA Hemnes China Cabinet with drawers - The adjustable shelves are supported on pins. We never noticed it, but it appears that the shelves over time have wiggled off of the front pins. Just now, an entire shelf full of glassware (second shelf from the top) tipped forward, pushed open the glass doors, and crashed down and shattered all over the floor, just narrowly missing my toddler who had just closed a drawer. After this incident I looked at the other two adjustable shelves and they look nearly ready to do the same. We are so lucky to have only had broken wine glasses and dishes, but this could have caused SERIOUS injuries had she been standing right underneath. This is a very popular furniture line from IKEA and I hope nobody gets hurt by this! I will include pictures of the problem area if that could help. This likely applies to all of the other storage cabinets in the Hemnes collection.
I purchased a heavy cabinet which was called a console table on Walmart.com and when I emptied the HEAVY box, the anti tip hardware was not in the baggie, yet the instructions were. I contacted Walmart and they told me that I have to repack the item exactly as it was and send it back. I'm almost 60 years old and can not repack this item due to the weight and how it was packed. It's like a puzzle.
Showing 8 of 211 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec have a danger score of 44/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 149,827 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 452,736 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec increasing or decreasing?
Down 12% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 514,726 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec?
Of all ER visits involving cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec, approximately 5.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (94.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with cabinets, racks, room dividers and shelves, nec?
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 44/100 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.