Desks, Chests, Bureaus Or Buffets
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 Furnishings & Fixtures · CPSC Code 604
Down 16% over 5 years
The verdict
Desks, Chests, Bureaus Or Buffets carry a danger score of 44/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 124,951 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 16% over the last five years.
- 44/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 124,951
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 6.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 604 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 44/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for desks, chests, bureaus or buffets - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume124,951 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)6.8%
- Fatality rate0.04%
- 5-year trend-16%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Desks, Chests, Bureaus Or Buffets (CPSC product code 604, in the Home Furnishings & Fixtures category) generate an estimated 124,951 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 2.5M 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 16% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (146,336 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (100,525 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for desks, chests, bureaus or buffets is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 344,232 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (282,061 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 443,047 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 6.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.04%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 241 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how desks, chests, bureaus or buffets 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 | 269,360 | 173,616 | |
| 5-14 | 245,511 | 186,731 | |
| 15-24 | 124,490 | 141,327 | |
| 25-34 | 105,020 | 122,022 | |
| 35-44 | 84,432 | 107,737 | |
| 45-54 | 76,343 | 107,543 | |
| 55-64 | 72,837 | 105,301 | |
| 65-74 | 66,705 | 111,811 | |
| 75+ | 133,716 | 264,078 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Toe | Fracture | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Mouth | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
32YOM C/O FALL. WAS CARRYING A WARDROBE DOWN THE STAIRS AND THE WARDROBE FELL ON TOP OF HIM. PAIN TO THE HEAD, NECK, RIGHT SHOULDER, RIGHT ARM, RIGHT LEG, AND CHEST. SCANS WERE NEGATIVE. DX: FALL, CLOSED HEAD INJURY
62YOF WAS WALKING TO BATHROOM WHEN SHE FELL STRIKING RIGHT HIP TO DRESSER AT HOME DX:CONTUSION TO HIP
29 YOM CUT RIGHT RING FINGER ON A RUSTY NAIL WHILE MOVING A DRESSER IN HIS BASEMENT. DX: LACERATION TO FINGER
29YOM WITH KNEE PAIN, HIT ON A DRAWER DX: KNEE PAIN
6YOM PRESENTS WITH AN EAR LACERATION S/P PT WAS PLAY WRESTLING ON THE BED WITH HIS BROTHER AND DAD AT HOME WITH HE ACCIDENTALLY HIT HIS EAR ON A DRESS CORNER. DX: EAR LACERATION
12MOM WAS PLAYING AT HOME WHEN HE FELL STRIKING HIS FACE ON A DRESSER DX: LACERATION FACE
20YOF WITH FALL AGAINST DRESSER DX: CONCUSSION
75YOF TO ER W/ HEAD INJURY & FACIAL LACERATION, PT WAS KNEELING BY HER DRESSER TO PRAY & PT LOST BALANCE & FELL INTO THE CORNER OF DRESSER, NO LOC PT HAS LACERATION OF RIGHT EYEBROW, DX INJURY OF HEAD, FALL, LACERATION OF FOREHEAD
41YOM TO ER FOR INJURY OF RIGHT 4TH DIGIT, X 1 WEEK AGO IN ***, PT SAID ADRAWER FROM A DRESSER FELL ON THE FINGER & INJURED IT, DID NOT HAVE IT CHECKED OUT AT THAT TIME, DX INJURY OF FINGER OF RIGHT HAND
69YOF WAS WALKING ACROSS HER BEDROOM & BUMPED INTO HER DRESSER & FELL ON RIGHT HIP, PT SAYS DID HIT HEAD ON CARPET NO LOC NO OTHER INJURIES DX FALL, CLSD DISPLACED FRACTURE OF RIGHT HIP , RIGHT HIP PAIN
9YOF HER SISTER DROPPED A DESK AND/OR A TABLE ON HER FOOT. DX: FOOT FX
92YOM, FROM NURSING FACILITY AFTER SUFFERED UNWITNESSED FALL AND FOUND DOWN BETWEEN DRESSER AND BED, PATIENT HAS NO COMPLAINTS AND DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, DX: PELVIC MASS; FALL, INTIAL ENCOUNTER
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
A drawer from an IKEA Hemnes chest if drawers felt on my daughters toe, causing her an injury. The screws that maintain the drawers on place are not for wood, and do not work to hold them in place and prevent them from getting off the rails .
A Heritage Baby Products/Baby Cache "Kensington" collection Five Drawer Dresser tipped over onto a 2 year old female. The model # of the dresser is KEN05-Nat. The drawers are front heavy. The furniture was delivered to the home and the parents did not assemble or place the furniture. The dresser was not tethered or anchored to a wall. The child died as a result of the injuries sustained. This dresser is sold exclusively through Babies -R-US. This dresser was purchased at a Babies -R-Us store in Queens New York.
My daughter was killed when her Million Dollar Baby dresser fell on her.
-Child's fingers became stuck in a self-closing drawer that would not open We have a Natart Nest Juvenile Baby Dresser Bruges. The dresser was delivered about 2 years ago with faulty drawers. The drawers come with a soft close feature to prevent the drawer from slamming closed. Upon delivery, it was noted that some of these drawers did not work correctly; some drawers would not close softly and others required excessive force to open the drawer to the point it was difficult for an adult to open. Multiple attempts have been made to fix the drawers over the past 2 years without success. Our toddler tried to open one of the drawers that requires excessive force to open but the drawn slammed shut tightly trapping his fingers.
Llorell offers a Sit to Stand Desk Riser to sit on top of an existing desk which allows the consumer to move from a sitting position to a standing position. The product has the potential to create a substantial risk of injury and property damage to the consumer / user when attempting to make a raised or lowered adjustment. Serious lower back and neck injuries can be created when adjustments are made to the product. To made adjustments, the consumer unlocks the adjustment component located at the rear of the desk (approximately 16 inches from the front of the product) on both sides of the product. To access the adjustment components, the consumer needs a 30 inch wide-arm grasp to complete to unlock the adjustment component. The position of the adjustment components requires the consumer to bend the upper torso at approximately 46 degree angle, which is recognized as an awkward position. After unlocking the consumer then user then lifts the desk in an upward motion by grasping either the front or side of the product to guide it to the desired height. The gas spring mechanism, which allows the desk to adjust, requires a significant amount of force to complete the full adjustment motion (either raised or lowered). Adjusting the desk using a pulling force coupled with the consumers upper torso bent at a 46 degree angle is a hazard to the lower back and neck. Serious injury can occur by making these adjustments to this product. Numerous pinch point hazards are encountered while making adjustments with no warnings or cautions labeled on the product nor listed in the instructions. In addition, depending on where you grasp the desk lower stabilizers raise with the desk causing the product to tip over on the consumer. The instructions included in the box are extremely limited. Recommended maintenance nor inspection requirements were not listed in the users guide. I contacted S.P Richards Product Support via phone on September 8th and spoke wi
Our 3-year-old daughter opened all 4 drawers of her dresser at the same time which caused it to tip over towards her. Luckily, she ran out of the way in time. The bottom drawer's rail bent and the back board cracked as a result.
The track came off of the sides of my child's dresser drawer, causing the drawer to tumble forward and tip over his dresser. The anchoring system was inadequate, as the dresser is so cheaply made that it essentially just fell apart when met with resistance. If he had not jumped out of the way, he would have potentially been crushed.
Ikea denied me returning a recalled dresser and i tooked it home and it felt on me causing injury
Showing 8 of 241 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to desks, chests, bureaus or buffets on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are desks, chests, bureaus or buffets?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, desks, chests, bureaus or buffets have a danger score of 44/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 124,951 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from desks, chests, bureaus or buffets?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 344,232 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from desks, chests, bureaus or buffets increasing or decreasing?
Down 16% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for desks, chests, bureaus or buffets injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 443,047 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by desks, chests, bureaus or buffets?
Of all ER visits involving desks, chests, bureaus or buffets, approximately 6.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (93.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with desks, chests, bureaus or buffets?
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 Furnishings & Fixtures
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.