Christmas Tree Stands Or Supports
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.
Home Medical & Assistance Devices · CPSC Code 1712
Up 39% over 5 years
The verdict
Christmas Tree Stands Or Supports carry a danger score of 32/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 275 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 39% over the last five years.
- 32/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 275
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.4%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1712 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 32/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for christmas tree stands or supports - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume275 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.4%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+39%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Christmas Tree Stands Or Supports (CPSC product code 1712, in the Home Medical & Assistance Devices category) generate an estimated 275 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 5,223 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 32/100 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 rising by about 39% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2020 (541 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2013 (19 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for christmas tree stands or supports is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 597 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (535 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 982 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.4% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 5 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how christmas tree stands or supports 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 | 214 | 241 | |
| 5-14 | 102 | 387 | |
| 15-24 | 154 | 82 | |
| 25-34 | 123 | 859 | |
| 35-44 | 144 | 608 | |
| 45-54 | 188 | 384 | |
| 55-64 | 373 | 294 | |
| 65-74 | 328 | 257 | |
| 75+ | 191 | 299 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Toe | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Arm | Fracture | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Finger | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
62 YOF FELL AGAINST A PLASTIC CHRISTMAS TREE STAND. DX: LEG LACERATION LEFT.
85 YOF ON *** FOR AFIB HAD A WITNESS GROUND LEVEL FALL AT NURSING FACILITY STRIKING HER FOREHEAD AGAINST A TREE STAND. DX: TRAUMATIC HEMATOMA OF FOREHEAD, INTRAVENTRICULAR HEMORRHAGE, INTRACRANIAL ANEURYSM
14YOM C/O HEEL LACERATION S/P MOM STATES HE WAS HORSING AROUND IN THE HOUSE WITH HIS SIBLINGS BAREFOOT AND ACCIDENTALLY HIT HIS LEFT HEEL AGAINST A METAL PART OF A TREE STAND. DX: FOOT LACERATION, LEFT
50YOF WAS SECURING HER CHRISTMAS TREE AND GOT HER FINGER STUCK BETWEEN THE BASE AND THE TREE DX RT 5TH FINGER LACERATION
40YOF PUTTING UP ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREE AND METAL TREE STAND FELL HITTING RT FOOT. DX; FX RT 5TH TOE
2YOF PRESENTS WITH SCALP LACERATION AFTER A FALL OFF THE COUCH AND HITTING HER HEAD ON THE TREE STAND. DX: LACERATION TO SCALP
16YOF SLIPPED AHD HIT HEAD ON METAL PART OF TREE STAND DX: CHI
10MOM PRESENTS TO THE ED FOR LACERATION TO THE LEFT FINGER, AFTER PUTTING FINGER INTO AN XMAS TREE TUBE DX: LACERATION OF INDEX FINGER
62YOM WALKED IN TO ED WITH LACERATION TO BRIDGE OF NOSE. SAYS A CHRISTMAS TREE STAND FELL ON HIM LAST NIGHT. LACERATION IS ACTIVELY BLEEDING BUT PT ALSO BLEEDING OUT OF NOSTRILS AS WELL. DX:FACIAL LACERATION; BENZODIAZEPINE ABUSE; AMS.
37YOF PRESENT TO ED W/ INJURY TO R INDEX FINGER.PT WAS PUTTING HER CHRISTMAS TREE INTO THE STAND LAST NIGHT,FINGER CAUGHT BETWEEN TREE AND STAND W/ SMALL LAC TO TIP OF FINGER. BLEEDING PERSISTED W/ LITTLE TINGLING/NUMBNESS IN THE FINGER.NO OTHER INJURIESDX:LAC OF R INDEX FINGER W/O FB,W/O DAMAGE TO NAIL
27YOF PRESENTS TO ED FOR LEFT LEG PAIN AND SWELLING SINCE 6PM. PT AT CHRISTMAS TREE FARM WHEN FELL DOWN ADN HIT LEFT ANTERIOR SHIN ON SOMETHING IN DARK, NLCEAR IF TREE OR STAND. PT REPORTS NUMBNESS AND TINGLING DOWN HER ANTERIOR SHIN. DX: CONTUSION OF LEFT KNEE AND LOWER LEG
43 YOF WITH LEFT SIDED KNEE PAIN AFTER TRIPPING OVER A CHRISTMAS TREE STAND AT A CHRISTMAS TREE LOT DX: CONTUSION KNEE
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
After leaving the home and returning the consumer noticed that the 10 foot tall live tree had fallen over forward causing the bulbs to break off. The tree stand is small and round and appears that the plastic pieces that are over the bolts that position the tree in place was very flimsy. The consumers concerns were if her grandchildren were near the tree the tree could have possibly fell on top of them injuring them. She also indicated that per the instructions of the tree stand it was manufactured to hold a 10 foot tall live tree. The firm was not contacted but the consumer indicated that she would contact them. She contacted the retailer and they showed no concern with the safety concerns that she expressed. She has not used the tree stand since the incident occurred.
Lowe's Home Improvement is selling Christmas trees with pre-attached red plastic bases which are failing it seems due to inadequate strength and the tree are falling over by their owe admission. This creates damage and would seem to pose a fire danger.
Purchased EZ Up 9' Adjustable Christmas Tree Stand from Walmart. installed stand on 7' 5" live Christmas tree. no issue until after tree had been up for 2 weeks. In middle of night my son herd a crack and then the tree came down. My wife and son propped tree until I could get home to fix it. Upon inspection of the tree stand I found the plastic 'Spike" that help keeps the tree centered had completely broken off and allowed the tree weight to shift and caused the tree in the stand to fall over. Luckily the damage was confined to broken ornaments and wet carpet. I have concerns some could have been seriously hurt or could have started a possible fire (son quickly turned off power strip feeding the Christmas lights). I feel poor grade of plastic was used in the molding process which led to stress fracture and equipment failure.
New christmas tree stand failed while in use. (after 4 days) Whipped the tree to the ground, breaking ornaments, spilling one gallon of water. Fortunately we were home and saw it fall and were able to pull the electricity from the lights. It appears that at least 3 of the molded plastic anchor points for the eye bolts failed. Visible cracks can be seen in the photographs.
The product in question is the EZ up 9' Adjustable Christmas Tree Stand sold at Walmart. We used this tree stand with a 7' tree (well under the recommended 9') and followed all included directions. After we had adjusted the tree to ensure it was properly upright, we locked the tree into position. I even tested to ensure the stand was holding the base securely and it seemed to be. My family then decorated the tree with lightweight shatterproof ornaments which added very little weight to the tree. We then went to bed. During the night, the tree turned over in the middle of the living room dumping its water supply and onto the ground and over the power connector for the lights. If our infant son had been playing under the tree, he would have undoubtedly been injured by the falling tree or the electrical current running through the spilled water. I feel this tree is not only unsafe due to falling over, but also a fire hazard and an electric shock hazard. I request that this product be promptly removed from the market, that the manufacturers be held criminally responsible, and a full recall issued.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to christmas tree stands or supports on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are christmas tree stands or supports?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, christmas tree stands or supports have a danger score of 32/100 (low risk). An estimated 275 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from christmas tree stands or supports?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 597 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from christmas tree stands or supports increasing or decreasing?
Up 39% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for christmas tree stands or supports injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 982 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by christmas tree stands or supports?
Of all ER visits involving christmas tree stands or supports, approximately 3.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.6%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with christmas tree stands or supports?
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 Home Medical & Assistance Devices
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 32/100 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.
