Car Seats (for Infants Or Children)
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.
Nursery & Baby Products · CPSC Code 1519
Down 23% over 5 years
The verdict
Car Seats (for Infants Or Children) carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 12,670 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 23% over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 12,670
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.5%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1519 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for car seats (for infants or children) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume12,670 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.5%
- Fatality rate0.02%
- 5-year trend-23%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Car Seats (for Infants Or Children) (CPSC product code 1519, in the Nursery & Baby Products category) generate an estimated 12,670 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 253,403 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 23% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2010 (18,835 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (7,767 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for car seats (for infants or children) is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 80,933 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the face (23,260 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 191,509 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 4.5% 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 49 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how car seats (for infants or children) 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 | 98,436 | 93,007 | |
| 5-14 | 2,379 | 2,430 | |
| 15-24 | 2,703 | 9,972 | |
| 25-34 | 4,997 | 17,292 | |
| 35-44 | 3,908 | 7,269 | |
| 45-54 | 1,755 | 4,487 | |
| 55-64 | 509 | 2,052 | |
| 65-74 | 524 | 1,093 | |
| 75+ | 249 | 267 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Not Stated/unk | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Elbow | Dislocation | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Head | Fracture | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Concussion |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
5 YOM WAS IN CAR SEAT AND FELL OUT OF SUV HIT HEAD DX: HEAD INJURY
53YOF COMPLAINS OF NOSEBLEED AFTER PUTTING *** UP HER NOSE. ALSO COMPLAINS OF FINGER INJURY AFTER REMOVING A CAR SEAT. DX: PARONYCHIA, CELLULITIS OF MUCOUS MEMBRANE OF NOSE
5MOM PRESENTS WITH FALL S/P PT'S MOTHER STATES THE PT WAS IN THE CAR SEAT THAT WAS SITTING ON THE KITCHEN TABLE WHEN HE FELL FEET FIRST ONTO THE FLOOR AND THEN FELL FORWARD HITTING THE FRONT OF HIS HEAD. NO INJURIES REPORTED. DX: FALL
3 MOM. FALL OUT OF CAR SEAT, MOTHER WAS CARRYING THE BABY INSIDE OF A CAR SEAT & THE BABY WAS NOT BUCKLED, PT SLIPPED OUT OF THE CAR SEAT & THEN FELL ONTO CEMENT PAVEMENT. DX: LT PARIETAL SCALP HEMATOMA; FALL
10 MOM. HEAD PAIN AFTER FALLING FORWARD FROM A CAR SEAT ONTO A CEMENT SIDEWALK. PT WAS NOT SECURED INTO A CAR SEAT DX: HEMATOMA OF FRONTAL SCALP; FALL
2YOF WAS BEING PLACED IN A CAR SEAT GRANDMOTHER LIFTED HER ARMS UP AND LEFT ELBOW POPPED OUT OF PLACE DX: NURSEMAIDS ELBOW
2YOF PATIENT WAS EATING A COOKIE WHILE IN HER CARSEAT AND HAD A CHOKING EPISODE, SHE HAD COUGHING AND INCREASED WORK OF BREATHING FOR 30 MINUTES. DX: CHOKING EPISODE
6 MOF SITTING IN CARSEAT ONTOP OF KITCHEN COUNTER, BROTHER PUSHED AND FELL ONTO KITCHEN FLOOR DX INJURY HEAD
4MOM WAS IN A CAR SEAT WHEN HIS THREE YEAR OLD SISTER TRIED TO PICK IT UP AND DROPPED IT AND STRUCK HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY, ABRASION SCALP
34YOF HAD A FALL WHILE CARRYING HER CHILD IN A CAR SEAT, SLIPPED ON ICE LANDING ONTO LOWER BACK DX: LOW BACK PAIN
6MOM WAS IN HIS CAR SEAT ON THE FLOOR & FELL OUT. LATER, HE SPILLED A CUP OF HOT TEA ON HIMSELF. INJURY & BODY PT N.S. DX: NONE
5MOF WAS UNSECURED IN HER CAR SEAT SITTING ON A BED AND FELL OUT OF THE CAR SEAT OFF OF THE BED TO HARDWOOD FLOOR DX: CHI *
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Nothing has happened yet. Evenflo released a new car seat, the Evenflo all4one all in one car seat. The level swings around like absolute crazy. When youre going up or down even a tiny hill it goes completely red. I had to sit back in the backseat with my 3month old the entire way home. The added in cushions have no weight requirements so I have no idea what my child even needs to be using. The instruction manual is extremely vague. I just have no idea if this is even safe. The section of level for a rear facing child under 20kg is the size of a [REDACTED] piece of paper.
I was leaving a restaurant with my aunt and niece and picked up the handle of my daughters car seat when the handle flew toward her feet. I registered her car seat which the label on the car seat says it was manufactured in 2015, but the email they sent says the car seat was manufactured in 2016 which doesn't make sense to me. This is a replacement car seat because the handle of my original car seat flew towards my daughters feet when I picked the car seat up by the handle. Both times my daughter was buckled in, had she not been my daughter would have been seriously injured or worse. Report #[REDACTED] also pertains to me.
We have a Britax B-Safe Elite car seat. The button used to loosen the straps that secure an infant is located where the infant's heel rests and it is the perfect shape for an infant heel to rest. Additionally, the button does not require much force to depress it. So, when an infant starts to squirm and presses his or her heel down on the button while lifting their upper body the result is the loosening of the straps intended to keep the infant secure and safe in the car seat. It does not completely loosen, but it will loosen an a couple inches with our child, and I imagine it is different depending on the size of the child. We called Britax to report this occurring and they said there was nothing they could do about the defective design, and if there was an incident they would have their legal department handle it.
Caller stated that flames from a candle near by the car seat caused it to erupt in flames. She had placed the car seat in a restaurant and a votive oil candle was nearby, the heat started melting the visor which extended to the seat and then to the plastic base. Fortunately, the child was not in the seat. The flames were contained but the seat was burnt. 9/23/13 The manufacturer was contacted and she was informed to send pictures of the incident. She stated that she emailed photos of the incident but have not received any updates as yet. She is concerned that this infant car seat poses a fire hazard due to the material it is made from and should be investigated.
My grandson is able to release the chest clip on the Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant car seat allowing him squirm room to get out of the harness. He weighs 23 pounds
I was taking my daughter out of the car while at my aunts and as I lifted the car seat up, the handle went flying forward towards her feet. If my daughter had not been buckled in she would have flown out of the car seat.
The Baby Jogger Car Seat adapter is designed to allow a Graco SnugRide car seat to be installed on a Baby Jogger City Mini series stroller. However upon installation the car-seat does not seat firmly on the adapter, instead the hinges of the car seat adapter 'balance' on the uprights of the car seat adapter, making it very unstable and unsafe. The manufacturer provides a nylon strap to secure the car seat to the adapter, however this does not provide a secure car seat (unlike when it's used with a car seat base in a car). I will be returning the product to Baby Jogger, as I don't want my 3-month old daughter placed in any danger with this product. Similar consumers have had similar problems, as evidenced by the comments on the amazon.com website )http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Jogger-Car-Seat-Adaptor/product-reviews/B00155UGTO/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1)
We purchased a Cybex "Aton 2" infant car seat in in late June in advance of the birth of our son (birth date July 10th, 2014). Late last week, with the car seat having thus seen approximately three weeks' of use (possibly 6-8 car trips, roundtrip, absolute maximum) by an infant who only now weighs 6.5 lbs, we observed fatigue (white marks and the beginning of two small tears/cracks) in the plastic of the carrying handle abutting the buttons to reposition the handle and next to where it meets the main body of the car seat. We immediately contacted the manufacturer's US distributor (Regal Lager) to alert them to the issue and were told that "that's just you pushing the car seat into the seat's base (which remains in the car) too hard" and that they were not willing to do anything about it. Incredulous, and concerned as to the safety implications of a car seat with failing parts from nothing more than light, normal usage over not even a month, we continued to press the customer service personnel at Regal Lager for some days, including sending them pictures of the affected areas, but other than indicating that other customers had complained to them of the same structural failing, they provided no indication as to whether it represented a safety issue or not, and nor were they willing to do anything whatsoever about it. We will be returning the car seat to its place of purchase [REDACTED] since we cannot be safe in our minds not knowing if the handle (or even other parts of the seat constructed with the same plastic) might fail either when carrying the car seat or during a car accident, but before so doing, we wanted to raise the matter with you (in no small part because Regal Lager customer service representatives effectively "dared" us to report the seat's issues to Federal authorities with a "go ahead, we don't care" response and did so when it appears this is not an isolated complaint). Since we will be returning the seat, please advise if any one wishes to inspect
Showing 8 of 49 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to car seats (for infants or children) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are car seats (for infants or children)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, car seats (for infants or children) have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 12,670 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from car seats (for infants or children)?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 80,933 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from car seats (for infants or children) increasing or decreasing?
Down 23% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for car seats (for infants or children) injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 191,509 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by car seats (for infants or children)?
Of all ER visits involving car seats (for infants or children), approximately 4.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with car seats (for infants or children)?
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 Nursery & Baby Products
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.
