Freezers (separate From Refrigerators)
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.
Kitchen Cooking Appliances · CPSC Code 263
Stable over 5 years
The verdict
Freezers (separate From Refrigerators) carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 6,922 ER-treated injuries a year that are roughly flat over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 6,922
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 4.6%
- end in hospital admission
- 25-34
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 263 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for freezers (separate from refrigerators) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume6,922 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)4.6%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-8%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Freezers (separate From Refrigerators) (CPSC product code 263, in the Kitchen Cooking Appliances category) generate an estimated 6,922 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 138,440 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 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 roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (9,906 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (5,305 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for freezers (separate from refrigerators) is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 12,714 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by strain, sprain to the lower trunk (8,260 cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 21,780 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 4.6% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 43 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how freezers (separate from refrigerators) 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 | 3,538 | 2,722 | |
| 5-14 | 4,895 | 5,155 | |
| 15-24 | 8,566 | 6,336 | |
| 25-34 | 10,431 | 11,349 | |
| 35-44 | 10,070 | 8,853 | |
| 45-54 | 8,060 | 10,751 | |
| 55-64 | 5,701 | 11,404 | |
| 65-74 | 3,632 | 8,994 | |
| 75+ | 3,524 | 14,451 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Hand | Fracture | |
| Upper Trunk | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
50 YOF REPORTS HIT HEAD ON FREEZER DOOR NOW HAS HEAD PAIN. DX: BLUNT HEAD TRAUMA, NECK STRAIN, HEADACHE
51 YOF C/O LOW BACK PAIN, RADIATING DOWN LEG SINCE SHE TURNED TO GET FOOD FROM FREEZER AT HOME DX LUMBAR STRAIN, RADICULOPATHY
59YOM PRESENTS WITH INJURY TO HIS RIGHT BIG TOE. PATIENT STATES HE HIT THE RIGHT BID TOE ON THE FREEZER A FEW DAYS AGO. THERE WAS SOME BLEEDING FROM UNDERNEATH HIS TOENAIL. DX: HEMATOMA SUBUNGUAL GREAT TOENAIL RIGHT.
67YOF WAS AT HOME AND WENT TO GET A *** OUT OF THE FREEZER AND WAS DANCING AROUND AND FELL FLAT HITTING HER HEAD, HAS A SMALL CONTUSION AROUND HER RIGHT EYE DX: CONCUSSION, CONTUSION AND HEADACHE
58 YOF FELL LIFTING SOMETHING OUT OF FREEZER DX; LOW BACK PAIN, L KNEE PAIN
75 YOF C/O TIGHTNESS TO RIGHT SIDE OF HEAD SINCE THIS MORNING AFTER HITTING HEAD ON FREEZER DOOR, TAKES ***, DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY
48 YOF. HEADACHE AFTER PT ACCIDENTALLY HIT HER HEAD AGAINST A FREEZER DOOR. DX: INJURY OF HEAD
40YOM WITH KNEE LAC S.P HELPING MOVE A FREEZER WHEN THE FREEZER SLID OUT OF HIS HANDS ONTO HIS KNEE DX: LAC OF SKIN OF RIGHT KNEE
36 YOM WAS ATTEMPTING TO WORK ON HIS FREEZER WHEN HE SLICED HIS FINGER ON A PIECE OF SHEET METAL. DX: LACERATION LEFT MIDDLE FINGER
8YOM WAS GETTING AN ICE CREAM SANDWICH OUT OF THE FREEZER WHEN THE FREEZER DOOR CLOSED ONTO HIS HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY
86 YOF LIFTING FREEZER DOOR, IT CAME DOWN, HIT HER IN HEAD. DX CLOSED HEAD INJURY, SCALP LACERATION
53YOF WITH HAND PAIN AFTER FREEZER DOOR CLOSED ON HER HAND. DX; PAIN OF RIGHT HAND
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
My house caught on fire and we lost everything. We have video footage and picture of where the fire started and that the deep freeze was the cause of my fire.
Black and Decker BFE53, serial number 1006012261-01 Freezer failed, food thawed and spoiled. This particular model and serial number range was part of a recall that I only became aware of after the failure. Freezer was purchased at Walmart in Cedar Park, TX within the last year. Recall information: November 2, 2010 Release #11-028
The consumer indicates that he went to get something from his deep freezer and when he grabbed the lid to open it he immediately had to let it go because it was extremely hot to the touch. The consumer unplugged the unit. The consumer states there was no burning smell or apparent smoke around his deep freezer. The consumer cut the cord in half and discarded the unit. The consumer indicates that the deep freezer was always in use and plugged in.
I purchased a deep freezer at Walmart a few years ago To store a lot deer meat my boyfriend would always hunt and have a lot of meat processed so we needed am extra freezer we bought one at Walmart for a very good price and it worked just fine for us until tonight my 6 year old curious son was sitting on the floor playing with his toys while his Dad cooked and all of a sudden I hear my boyfriend scream and yell out which scared me and I ran to the kitchen and my son was holding onto his wrist and rubbing it it was very red and irritated looking my boyfriend said a big poof of fire and smoke come up from the bottom so we unplugged it and looked around wrote down the serial number hoping we could get this fixed and I found out online there was a recall on this same model freezer so hopefully we can get a different model or a tech to come out and service this freezer. Just so thankful my son and his father was not seriously injured. MODEL FROM BLACK N DECKER #BFEQ50
Freezers defrost element caught on fire
The motor burned up on our Haier 7 cubic foot Chest Freezer, Model # HNCM070E, Serial #0709000186. We were gone for a week on vacation, when we got home the house smelled like rotten meat and when I went into the laundry room where we keep the freezer I heard a whirring noise followed by a electrical popping noise. I unplugged it and when I opened the freezer all the food was defrosted and had to be thrown. This model number was recalled, but not our serial number by Haier. We will be contacting them, but not sure what else to do.
As I went to open our Black and Decker chest freezer, I noticed that everything was thawed out. So I went and checked the setting turned it all the way up to 7 the highest it can go and it never turned on. This freezer is not even two years old yet and has only been moved from store to our home. We went and checked by the grate on the side you could smell the smoke and it was very hot. I have never had this happen to us before but with a family of 6 this was very economical for our family and now we dont know what to do since the freezer was filled with meat and other food. I unplugged the freezer and we have not tried to plug itback in since the smoke and the heat came from the side of it.
On July 16, 2017 i purchased a Kenmore upright freezer model #253.22042410. The freezer was delivered two days later on the 18th. Later that day my wife and I went to the garage to put some food in the freezer. When my wife went to open the freezer, it started tipping over on top of her. Luckily I was there to catch the freezer. If I had not been in the garage with her, it would have fallen on top of her and probably caused serious injuries if not worse. If it had been one of my grandchildren they would probably be dead. The problem was caused because the magnets holding the door closed were so strong that the door would not open, so when you pull on the door handle, you can literally pull the freezer over. I lowered the adjustment feet, to the maximum that they can be lowered so that the freezer now tilts backward and can't fall forward. However, the instructions state that the freezer must be leveled. I ignored the instructions for safety purposes. Once the feet were lowered the freezer would not fall forward, but it still will not open. When you pull on the handle to open the freezer, you can literally drag it across the floor. The magnets are that powerful. A 200 lb. freezer with food in it and you can drag it across the floor. I contacted customer service and they sent out a technician to look at the freezer and determine that it needed to be replaced, which it did. The second freezer was delivered on July 27th. The delivery personnel removed the old freezer and put it on the truck. They then unloaded and unpacked the the new freezer and put it into place in my garage, I tried to open the freezer and the same problem existed with the door. Also when they plugged in the freezer, it didn't run. They had to take the second freezer, load it back onto the truck and put the original freezer back, at least it runs. On Aug. 15, a month after the original freezer was ordered, Sears delivered a third freezer, and went through all of the same motions
Showing 8 of 43 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to freezers (separate from refrigerators) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are freezers (separate from refrigerators)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, freezers (separate from refrigerators) have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 6,922 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from freezers (separate from refrigerators)?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 12,714 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from freezers (separate from refrigerators) increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for freezers (separate from refrigerators) injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 21,780 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by freezers (separate from refrigerators)?
Of all ER visits involving freezers (separate from refrigerators), approximately 4.6% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (95.4%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with freezers (separate from refrigerators)?
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 Kitchen Cooking Appliances
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 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.
