High Chairs
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.
Nursery & Baby Products · CPSC Code 1555
Up 10% over 5 years
The verdict
High Chairs carry a danger score of 39/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 10,860 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 10% over the last five years.
- 39/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 10,860
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.6%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1555 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 39/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for high chairs - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume10,860 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.6%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+10%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
High Chairs (CPSC product code 1555, in the Nursery & Baby Products category) generate an estimated 10,860 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 217,202 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 rising by about 10% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (15,905 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2005 (6,693 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for high chairs is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 93,432 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the face (17,620 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 202,523 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 3.6% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 248 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how high chairs 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 | 107,025 | 95,498 | |
| 5-14 | 1,253 | 2,806 | |
| 15-24 | 255 | 1,590 | |
| 25-34 | 628 | 2,532 | |
| 35-44 | 314 | 1,524 | |
| 45-54 | 140 | 801 | |
| 55-64 | 177 | 974 | |
| 65-74 | 308 | 474 | |
| 75+ | 16 | 886 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Not Stated/unk | Other | |
| Head | Fracture | |
| Face | Hematoma | |
| Head | Hematoma | |
| Elbow | Dislocation | |
| Lower Arm | Fracture | |
| Shoulder | Fracture | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
9MOF FELL OUT OF HIGH CHAIR HIT FOREHEAD. DX: CONTUSION OF HEAD, CONTUSION FOREHEAD.
23 MOF FELL OUT OF HIGH CHAIR ONTO FLOOR DX; FOREHEAD CONTUSION
18MOF WAS AT HOME SITTING IN HER HIGHCHAIR & EATING FOOD & TOOK A PC OF THANKSGIVING CACTUS & STUCK IT UP HER LEFT NARE, PARENTS NOTICED A SMALL PORTION STICKING OUT AND REMOVED, PARENTS SAY PT ACTING NORMAL DX FOREIGN BODY IN NOSE
10MOF FELL TO THE FLOOR OUT OF HER HIGH CHAIR DX: FRACTURE RIGHT RADIUS
7MOF FELL OFF HER HIGH CHAIR ONTO THE FLOOR STRIKING HEAD DX: CLOSED HAD INJURY
2 YOF STOOD UP IN HER HIGHCHAIR AND ACCIDENTALLY FELL 3 FT. DX: FRACTURE PROXIMAL END OF RIGHT HUMERUS
17MOM PATIENT WAS CLIMBING UP HIS HIGHCHAIR WHEN HE FELL AND HIT THE FRONT OF HIS HEAD. DX: FALL, HEAD INJURY
10MOF PRESENTS AFTER A FALL FROM HER HIGH CHAIR AND LANDING ON HER FACE. DX: FALL, EPISTAXIS
22MOM FELL OUT OF A HIGH CHAIR STRIKING HIS FACE ON A WOODEN TABLE LEG DX: FACIAL INJURY
6MOF FELL OUT OF A HIGH CHAIR ONTO HARDWOOD FLOOR AND HIT HER SCALP DX: FALL; CLOSED HEAD INJURY
19MOF- MOM REPORTS PT WAS HOLDING CRAYONS IN HER HAND WHEN SHE TRIPPED OVER THE LEG OF THE HIGHCHAIR FALLING FORWARD ONTO HARDWOOD FLOOR. PT HIT LOWER LIP PAIN, SWELLING & TEAR. DX: FRENULUM TEAR OF UPPER LIP.
8 MOF FELL OUT OF A HIGHCHAIR AND FELL TO THE FLOOR. DX LIP LACERATION
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Trend high chair By Baby Trend High Sahara Item BC01938 bought new at toyrs r us. We are foster parents. The strap pinches the child around belly when the child leans forward. Left large welt-like brush burn pinch marks. Child was attended the whole time, but did not cry.
my kid fell of it
My infant daughter fell over the boon high chair
This product is the evenflo Convertible High Chair model name is Marianna these high chairs were recalled in June of 2012, however under a different model number. My five month old [REDACTED] feel out of it yesterday September,3,2015 at approximately 1:30pm after I removed the tray to clean it. She was strapped in. A couple of seconds later she fell out onto the ceramic tiling in the kitchen with the inner black mesh the chair as as the cushion still on her arms. She was rushed to the hospital and has suffered from a contusion on her left eye. My safety concern is why we're recalled in 2012 just to be made again three years later ? It's a disgrace
My daughter was securely strapped into her 2012 Inglesina Fast Table High Chair and eating beside me at the table. She pushed up on the bottom bars with her feet, twisted her body sideways, and went head first over the side of the high chair. I caught her by her legs, so she suffered no injuries because she did not fall all the way to the floor. This chair needs a 5 point harness system, not just a waist belt in my opinion. It is unsafe for babies who are particularly active and thin, as mine is.
My 10mo is strong but she should not be strong enough to push up and bust out of the entire Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair. We were having breakfast as usual. She's strapped in and eating off her tray. Then she straightened her legs and pushed up hard. The rail (portion that holds baby's lower half) came out of its fastener on the seat, then the backrest with attached harness came off and the entire thing was loose. Then she slid down and smacked her face on the table. I was quick enough to keep her from hitting the floor but she was bleeding from her mouth and screaming.
I started noticing a few weeks ago that the high chair tray was hard to latch. I placed my one year old in it for dinner one night. Thinking I took the extra steps to latch the tray on to the chair. She pushed the tray out with minimal force and fell to the ground. Luckily she only had a minor bruise on her leg and arm. Two weeks went by and we thought it was just a rare situation and today it happen again. Luckily she did not fall out and I caught the situation right away.
I have the Boon pedestal high chair and was notified of the recall. I do not want to chance it falling over and would like a refund. I have noted that the brake does not really work as well
Showing 8 of 248 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to high chairs on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are high chairs?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, high chairs have a danger score of 39/100 (low risk). An estimated 10,860 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from high chairs?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 93,432 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from high chairs increasing or decreasing?
Up 10% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for high chairs injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 202,523 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by high chairs?
Of all ER visits involving high chairs, approximately 3.6% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.4%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with high chairs?
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 Nursery & Baby Products
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 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.
