Jigsaws
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 Communication & Entertainment · CPSC Code 875
Down 23% over 5 years
The verdict
Jigsaws carry a danger score of 28/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 627 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 23% over the last five years.
- 28/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 627
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 1.4%
- end in hospital admission
- 35-44
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 875 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 28/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for jigsaws - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume627 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)1.4%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-23%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Jigsaws (CPSC product code 875, in the Home Communication & Entertainment category) generate an estimated 627 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 12,539 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 28/100 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 23% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2007 (1,005 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2022 (254 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for jigsaws is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 5,937 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (1,710 cases). The 35-44 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 2,800 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 1.4% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 3 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how jigsaws 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-14 | 384 | 324 | |
| 15-24 | 992 | 241 | |
| 25-34 | 2,074 | 16 | |
| 35-44 | 2,616 | 184 | |
| 45-54 | 1,672 | 460 | |
| 55-64 | 1,684 | 70 | |
| 65-74 | 974 | 73 | |
| 75+ | 695 | 78 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Eyeball | Foreign Body | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Knee | Laceration | |
| Finger | Amputation | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Finger | Other | |
| Finger | Foreign Body | |
| Hand | Other | |
| Upper Leg | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
47 YOM C/O FOREIGN BODY IN LT EYE 2 HOURS AGO, HE WAS USING A JIGSAW CUTTING WOOD. DX: CORNEAL ABRASION
39YOM WAS USING A JIGSAW AND CUT HIS FINGER. DX: FINGER LACERATION.
73 YOM CUT FINGER USING A JIGSAW DX: LAC
43YOM WAS USING A JIGSAW CUTTING WOOD WHEN HE ACCIDENTALLY CUT HIS RIGHT KNEE DX: LACERATION KNEE
55 YOM CUT HIS RIGHT HAND ON A JIGSAW, DX; HAND LACERATION
24YOM PATIENT REPORTS THAT HIS FINGERS GOT CAUGHT IN A JIG, HE HAS 2 SMALL WOUNDS. DX: FINGER FRACTURE
79YOM PRESENTS WITH A FRACTURE TO HIS FINGER AFTER USING A JIGSAW AND CUTTING HIS FINGER. DX: FRACTURE OF FINGER, LACERATION TO FINGER
51YOM PRESENTS WITH FOOT LACERATION. PATIENT STATES HE CUT HIS FOOT WITH A JIGSAW. DX: FOOT LACERATION
32YOM, WAS TRIMMING TREE BRANCHES WITH A JIGSAW WHEN THE SAW FELL ONTO HIS LEFT FOREARM, NO THINNERS, DX: LACERATION OF MULTIPLE SITES OF RIGHT UPPER EXTREMITY
47YOM ACCIDENTALLY CUT FINGER JIGSAW DX: CUT OF SKIN OF LEFT INDEX FINGER
14YOF WAS IN JEWELRY CLASS AND THIN JIGSAW BLADE BROKE OFF INTO HER FINGER. DX FB FINGER
67YOM PT USING A JIGSAW, SAW SLIPPED WHILE CUTTING LUMBER, CUT FNGERGS DX: LACERATION OF RT RING FINGER, MULTIPLE ABRASIONS OF FINGER #
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
The product in question is: BLACK+DECKER BDCJS20C 20V MAX JigSaw with Battery and Charger I have now had two consecutive products fail as described below: 1. Product suddenly got slow. 2. I assumed that the battery was just dead and switched to a new battery. 3. The second battery threw out a shower of sparks. 4. Both batteries no longer take a charge. The first one got light use over the course of just two weeks before it failed. The second lasted less than one hour. This product is clearly dangerously defective by design and needs to be recalled. It lacks proper overcurrent protection to prevent destroying batteries, and obviously has some sort of flaw that can cause the mechanism to jam up internally, resulting in locked rotor current.
I have a Ryobi Jigsaw with a quick change bit holder. I was setting up the jigsaw for cutting a board, with no battery in it. The jigsaw blade sometimes doesn't engage and flies out, so I check by tugging at the blade when I put it in. This night, I couldn't get the blade to engage. That is a danger in itself because I don't know what causes it to engage and what doesn't, and sometimes the blade goes flying when I start it up, or just after. To try to"fix" that issue, I took the blade out and put the battery in. I planned on triggering the tool with no blade, in hopes it would rattle the quick change mechanism into working order. Then I planned to take the battery out and put the blade in and make sure it was secure. I didn't get that far, as when I plugged in the battery I accidently hit the trigger while switching my grip. I immediately felt pain. My thumb was likely between the plunger and the guide for the blade when it engaged. I went to the ER. My nail is cracked, my thumb broken and there is a nail bed laceration. Unrelated to this issue, but I have accidentally engaged the lock off, causing the jigsaw not to turn off when I expect it to. I feel like a better design would have a safety where the lock off is, like the one on the ryobi circular saw.
I purchased a Bosch Jigsaw model 1584AVS. The saw has a quick release mechanism for the blade. This is supposed to make the blade easy to change without using tools. The mechanism fails and the blade loosens turns and will fly out of its housing. While completing a cut the blade has come loose from its housing and has flown into the top of my shoe. After a few other attempts the blade will loosen and fly out when started. I emailed Bosch's customer service department and have not received any responses. They have changed the blade mechanism on their newer models. I have only used this saw twice. I was using the jigsaw to cut out an arch with 5/8 inch plywood the first time. The second attempt was a failure because the blade continued to fly out when started even thought the mechanism locked in as the instruction manual indicated it would.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to jigsaws on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are jigsaws?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, jigsaws have a danger score of 28/100 (low risk). An estimated 627 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from jigsaws?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 5,937 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from jigsaws increasing or decreasing?
Down 23% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for jigsaws injuries?
The 35-44 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 2,800 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by jigsaws?
Of all ER visits involving jigsaws, approximately 1.4% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.6%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with jigsaws?
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 Communication & Entertainment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 28/100 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 35-44 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.
