Escalators
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.
Building Materials & Home Structures · CPSC Code 1890
Down 13% over 5 years
The verdict
Escalators carry a danger score of 39/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 11,285 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 13% over the last five years.
- 39/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 11,285
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 8.0%
- end in hospital admission
- 75+
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1890 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 39/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for escalators - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume11,285 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)8.0%
- Fatality rate0.02%
- 5-year trend-13%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Escalators (CPSC product code 1890, in the Building Materials & Home Structures category) generate an estimated 11,285 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 225,696 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 39/100 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 13% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (14,509 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (5,951 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for escalators is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 27,229 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the knee (10,426 cases). The 75+ age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 54,824 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 8.0% 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 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how escalators 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 | 8,060 | 6,280 | |
| 5-14 | 7,346 | 7,818 | |
| 15-24 | 5,560 | 9,824 | |
| 25-34 | 6,438 | 10,153 | |
| 35-44 | 6,981 | 8,911 | |
| 45-54 | 9,224 | 14,011 | |
| 55-64 | 11,764 | 21,917 | |
| 65-74 | 11,490 | 25,096 | |
| 75+ | 20,243 | 34,581 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Toe | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Leg | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
38 YOM HAD AN UNWITNESSED FALL DOWN AN ESCALATOR. +LACERATIONS TO LEFT BROW AND FOREHEAD. DX: INJURY OF HEAD.
73YOM WITH FALL DOWN ESCALATOR. PT WAS HELPING A CHILD WHOSE BAG WAS CAUGHT IN THE ESCALATOR AND WHEN IT RELEASED HE WAS ACCIDENTALLY BUMPED AND FELL DOWN THE ESCALATOR. PT HAS LAC TO THUMB AND ABRASION TO CHEST AND NOSE DX: FALL
58YOF WITH FALL AFTER TRIPPING AND FALLING ON ESCALATOR. PT HAS CHEST AND LOW BACK PAIN PT LEFT ED DX: OTHER ACUTE BACK PAIN
31YOM PRESENTED AFTER A SYNCOPAL EPISODE AND COLLAPSE COMING DOWN THE ESCALATOR AT THE MALL. POSITIVE HEAD STRIKE WITH LOC. DX: SYNCOPE
29YOM FELL DOWN ESCALATOR AS HE WAS GOING DOWN ON THE UP ESCALATOR AT TRAIN STATION, DRUG TEST +AMPHETAMINE DX: HEAD INJURY, MULTIPLE ABRASIONS, AMPHETAMINE USE
69YOF FELL GOING DOWN THE ESCALATOR AT THE AIRPORT STRIKING HEAD DX: CONCUSSION, NECK PAIN
40YOM FELL OFF OF THE ESCALATOR AT THE AIRPORT STRIKING HEAD AND UPPER BACK DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY CONTUSION UPPER BACK
59YOF PRESENTS AFTER A FALL ON AN ESCALATOR. DX: HAMSTRING INJURY
70YOF PRESENTS AFTER A FALL WITH HEAD STRIKE AT THE CASINO WHILE WALKING UP THE ESCALATOR. DX: SYNCOPE AND COLLAPSE, LEG PAIN, HEAD INJURY
87YOM PRESENTS AFTER A FALL ON THE ESCALATOR WHILE AT THE AIRPORT. DX: FALL, ARM PAIN
84YOF PRESENTS AFTER A FALL WHILE AT THE AIRPORT COMING DOWN THE ESCALATOR SAME DAY. DX: FALL, CONTUSION OF KNEE, STRAIN OF NECK
89YOF FELL DOWN THE ESCALATOR STAIRS AT THE AIRPORT DX: LACERATION LEFT LOWER LEG
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
(04/14/2021) The consumer was riding on the up escalator in the Salt Lake City International Airport when the wheels on his luggage caught in the moving stairs. The consumer was flipped over twice before his son and a man that was behind him were able to lift him up and remove him from the escalator. There was an Airport Police nearby but he could not find the emergency shut-off button. The paramedics were called. They checked out the consumer and advise him that there was damage to his neck. The consumer was able to continue on to his Las Vegas destination but stayed in his room.
I stepped onto a escalator at the Manchester Boston Regional Airport leading up from the check in counter to the TSA security check in. I was wearing rugged soled hiking shoes and I stepped onto the center of the step. The escalator was not busy with one family of three at least 10 steps behind me. I actually looked down at the escalator to make sure that my feet were centered. I was not walking on the escalator had only a small carry on bag with me. Approximately 1/2 way up the escalator I felt a bump which shifted my footing slightly into the riser of the step in front of me. I noticed that my shoe was caught and though that I could free it by pulling on it. When the escalator reached the top, the tread and riser came together, pulling my shoe and foot into the space between the tread and riser. When the escalator reached the top, the comb sheared the front two inches off of my rugged shoes and nipped off the top of three toes. I threw my body weight forward and pulled my foot out of the shoe, causing further injury to my ankle and permanent disability to my knee. The Escalator company maintained that there was no manufacturing defect on the device. This accident is bothersome because I followed all the guidelines provided by CPSC Release number: 08-264 and they were not sufficient to prevent a permanent disability. This accident could have been devastating had a child's foot become entrapped, because they would not have the strength to pull their foot from a tied sturdy shoe.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to escalators on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are escalators?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, escalators have a danger score of 39/100 (low risk). An estimated 11,285 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from escalators?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 27,229 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from escalators increasing or decreasing?
Down 13% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for escalators injuries?
The 75+ age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 54,824 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by escalators?
Of all ER visits involving escalators, approximately 8.0% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (92.0%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with escalators?
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 Building Materials & Home Structures
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 39/100 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.
