Crutches, Canes Or Walkers
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 1706
No trend data
The verdict
Crutches, Canes Or Walkers carry a danger score of 52/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 100,182 ER-treated injuries a year that are stable over the most recent five-year window.
- 52/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 100,182
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 27.4%
- end in hospital admission
- 75+
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1706 - last data year 2010.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 52/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for crutches, canes or walkers - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume100,182 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)27.4%
- Fatality rate0.02%
- 5-year trendN/A
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Crutches, Canes Or Walkers (CPSC product code 1706, in the Home Medical & Assistance Devices category) generate an estimated 100,182 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 601,092 ER-treated injuries across the 6-year span from 2005 to 2010. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 52/100 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 stable over the most recent five-year window, with the busiest year on record being 2010 (133,527 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (81,205 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for crutches, canes or walkers is fracture to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 82,805 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (48,161 cases). The 75+ age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 395,492 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 27.4% 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 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how crutches, canes or walkers 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 2010-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2010)
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 | 662 | 327 | |
| 5-14 | 2,919 | 4,104 | |
| 15-24 | 4,254 | 3,311 | |
| 25-34 | 5,454 | 5,358 | |
| 35-44 | 8,987 | 10,162 | |
| 45-54 | 15,498 | 18,361 | |
| 55-64 | 18,965 | 31,806 | |
| 65-74 | 24,036 | 51,380 | |
| 75+ | 98,769 | 296,676 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Leg | Fracture | |
| Upper Arm | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
94 YR OLD FEMALE CAUGHT LEG OF WALKER IN A BLANKET AND FELL ON FLOORAT HOME INJURING LEG DX: RIGHT FEMUR FRACTURE
89 YR OLD FEMALE TRIPPED ON WALKER AND FELL STRIKING HEAD ON FLOORDX: LACERATION TO SCALP
96 Y/O F FELL USING WALKERFX HUMERUS
84YOF FRACTURED HIP PT USING WALKER FOUND ON SIDE IN HALLWAY AT ASSISTED LIVING HOME*
80 YOF FELL OVER HER WALKER AND LANDED ON HER BACK. DX: CONTUSION TORIBS
SCALP CT-63YOM WENT TO GRAB HIS WALKER THAT HAD WHEELS ON IT AND ITSLIPPED AWAY AND HE FELL AT THE NURSING HOME
87YFC BENDING OVER WALKER HITTING HEAD ON NIGHTSTAND/LACERATION
72 YOF WAS AMBULATING WITH WALKER - LOST BALANCE; FELL TO FLOOR. FRACTURE, RIGHT LOWER LEG
56 YO M AMBULATING WITH A CANE WHEN OCD BEGAN KICKING IN AND PT BEGANWALKING TOO QUICKLY. HAD TWO FALLS. DX:LIP LACREATION.
80 Y/O/F TRIPPED / FELL OVER WALKER IN THE BATHROOMDX: SHOULDER CONTUSION
PT WAS CARRING HER PARROT IN ONE HAND AND HER WALKING CANE IN THEOTHER HAND, TRIPPED AND FELL, DX: SHOULDER CONTUSION
86 YOF BIBA FROM ADULT DAY CARE, FELL WHILE PUSHING WALKER SUSTAININGABDOMINAL CONTUSION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to crutches, canes or walkers on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are crutches, canes or walkers?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, crutches, canes or walkers have a danger score of 52/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 100,182 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from crutches, canes or walkers?
The most common injury is fracture to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 82,805 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from crutches, canes or walkers increasing or decreasing?
No trend data.
Who is most at risk for crutches, canes or walkers injuries?
The 75+ age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 395,492 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by crutches, canes or walkers?
Of all ER visits involving crutches, canes or walkers, approximately 27.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (72.6%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with crutches, canes or walkers?
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 52/100 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 75+ 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.
