Darts, Lawn (activity Or Equipment)
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.
Sports Protective Equipment & Gear · CPSC Code 3290
Up 64% over 5 years
The verdict
Darts, Lawn (activity Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 29/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 89 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 64% over the last five years.
- 29/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 89
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 0.0%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 3290 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 29/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for darts, lawn (activity or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume89 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)0.0%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+64%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Darts, Lawn (activity Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 3290, in the Sports Protective Equipment & Gear category) generate an estimated 89 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 1,338 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 29/100 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 64% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (269 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2022 (7 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for darts, lawn (activity or equipment) is puncture to the foot, accounting for approximately 340 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by other to the foot (108 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 651 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 0.0% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
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 darts, lawn (activity or equipment) 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 | 7 | 0 | |
| 5-14 | 248 | 16 | |
| 15-24 | 509 | 142 | |
| 25-34 | 240 | 0 | |
| 35-44 | 0 | 53 | |
| 45-54 | 19 | 0 | |
| 55-64 | 0 | 90 | |
| 75+ | 0 | 15 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Foot | Puncture | |
| Foot | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Leg | Foreign Body | |
| Ankle | Other | |
| Neck | Other | |
| Toe | Puncture | |
| Finger | Hematoma | |
| Hand | Puncture | |
| Hand | Other | |
| Eyeball | Hemorrhage | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ankle | Laceration | |
| Finger | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
20 YOF INJURED FOOT, ACCDENTALLY HIT IN FOOT WITH DART, OUSIDE. DX- PUNCTURE WOUND RIGHT FOOT
26YOM PRESENTS WITH A LEFT FOOT INJURY. YESTERDAY, PATIENT HAS A METAL TIPPED DART THROWN AT HIS LEFT FOOT AND HE DID HAVE TO YANK IT OUT OF HIS FOOT. THE OBJECT WAS REMOVED, INSPECTED AND SEEMED INTACT. HE HAS PAIN WITH WALKING WITH PAIN SCALE 6/10. DX: INJURY FOOT LEFT.
43YOF PATIENT HIT IN THE HAND WITH A LAWN DART DX: RIGHT HAND PAIN
22YOF WAS PLAYING DARTS AND TWISTED HER ANKLE DX; RT 5TH METATARSAL FX
4YOM- PT WAS OUTSIDE PLAYING HOLDING SOME SORT OF BLACK DART STAKE FELLL HITTING LEFT EYE IMMEDAITE PAIN TO EYE SOME BLEEDING. DX: LEFT EYE CORNEAL BLEEDING
22YOM PLAYING LAWN DARTS AND DART WENT INTO R GREAT TOE. DX PUNCTURE WOUND TO GREAT TOE
18 YOF HITTING LAWN DARTS W/POOL CUE, CUE BROKE, HIT HER IN HEAD DX; CHI, FOREHEAD LAC
23YOM WAS PLAYING DARTS LAST NIGHT AND WAS HIT IN THE LEFT MEDIAL ANKLE W A SMALL METAL TIPPED DART DX: ACUTE LEFT ANKLE PAIN
32 yom-got hit in the neck with a *** dart-1 week prior DX: cervical pain
19YOM HIT IN EYE WITH A *** DART BY A CHILD. DX: RT EYE CONT.
20YOM WAS PLAYING LAWN DARTS AND WAS STRUCK IN THE FOOT WITH ONE OF THE LAWN DARTS DX: PUNCTURE WOUND OF RIGHT FOOT [DORSUM] AND CELLULITIS
51YOM STRUCK ANKLE WITH LAWN DART AT HOME. DX: LT ANKLE LAC.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to darts, lawn (activity or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are darts, lawn (activity or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, darts, lawn (activity or equipment) have a danger score of 29/100 (low risk). An estimated 89 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from darts, lawn (activity or equipment)?
The most common injury is puncture to the foot, accounting for approximately 340 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from darts, lawn (activity or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Up 64% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for darts, lawn (activity or equipment) injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 651 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by darts, lawn (activity or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving darts, lawn (activity or equipment), approximately 0.0% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (100.0%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with darts, lawn (activity or equipment)?
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 Sports Protective Equipment & Gear
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 29/100 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 15-24 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.
