Manual Hedge Trimmers
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.
Lawn & Garden Equipment · CPSC Code 1449
Up 57% over 5 years
The verdict
Manual Hedge Trimmers carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,459 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 57% over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,459
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 2.9%
- end in hospital admission
- 55-64
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1449 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for manual hedge trimmers - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,459 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)2.9%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend+57%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Manual Hedge Trimmers (CPSC product code 1449, in the Lawn & Garden Equipment category) generate an estimated 1,459 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 29,178 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 rising by about 57% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2021 (2,811 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2013 (779 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for manual hedge trimmers is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 17,952 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (1,284 cases). The 55-64 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 6,231 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 2.9% 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 manual hedge trimmers 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 | 174 | 16 | |
| 5-14 | 1,175 | 176 | |
| 15-24 | 1,634 | 442 | |
| 25-34 | 2,048 | 997 | |
| 35-44 | 2,235 | 1,515 | |
| 45-54 | 2,492 | 2,090 | |
| 55-64 | 3,772 | 2,459 | |
| 65-74 | 2,809 | 2,103 | |
| 75+ | 1,515 | 1,528 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Finger | Amputation | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Toe | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Laceration | |
| Hand | Other | |
| Foot | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
34 YOF FELL ON THE HEDGE TRIMMER WHILE IT WAS OPEN. DX: LACERATION LOWER EXTREMITY
43YOF C/O LAC TO THUMB AND INDEX FINGER WHEN USING HEDGE TRIMMERS DX FINGER LACS
74YOM WITH INJURY TO HIS LEFT RING FINGER. WAS USING PRUNING SHEARS TO TRIM SHRUBS.DX: OPEN NONDISPLACED DISTAL PHALANX FRACTURE LEFT RING FINGER.
26YOM WAS TRIMMING BUSHES W HEDGE TRIMMER AND CAUGHT HIS R MIDDLE FINGER IN TRIMMER. HAS A FLAP TO FINGER. DX OPEN FINGER FX
56YOF WAS USING A MANUAL HEDGE TRIMMER CLIPPING HER BUSHES WHEN SHE CLIPPED THE EDGE OF HER RIGHT INDEX FINGER DX:LAC FINGER
54YOF WAS USING MANUAL HEDGE TRIMMERS WHEN ACCIDENTLY CUT OFF THE TIP OF HER FINGER DX:AMPUTATION TIP OF FINGER
77YOM WAS TRIMMING HIS BUSHES AT HOME WHEN HIS PACEMAKER FIRED DX:AIC DISCHARGE
26YOF WAS USING A PAIR OF MANUAL HEDGE TRIMMERS WHEN SHE CUT HER LEFT INDEX FINGER DX:LAC FINGER
23YOM WAS USING A PAIR OF HEDGE TRIMMERS AND CUT LEFT MIDDLE FINGER DX:LAC FINGER
80YOM C/O RIGHT WRIST PAIN AND INJURY. STARTED HAVING PAIN ABOUT 2 DAYS AGO AFTER USING MANUAL HEDGE TREMERS TO TRIM A BUSH. INCREASING IN SEVERE PAIN SINCE. SCANS ARE NEGATIVE. DX: ACUTE PAIN OF RIGHT WRIST, HISTORY OF GOUT
49YOF CUT HER FINGER W THE HEDGE TRIMMER DX LACERATION TO FINGER
56YOM C/O LEFT LOWER LEG LACERATION. WAS OUTSIDE DOING YARD WORK WHEN HAND-HEL HEDGE TREMORS FELL FROM HIS GRIP AND STABBED HIM IN THE LEFT LEG. LACERATION TO THE LEFT MID MEDIAL CALF. SCANS ARE NEGATIVE. DX: LACERATION OF LEFT CALF
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
While cutting a branch off a lilac bush with lopper shears one of the long handles snapped off. I was thrown off balance and fell to the ground. No serious injuries occurred.
I was trimming tree limbs this weekend in my yard with my Fiskars loppers on some shrubs and the handle unexpectedly snapped and the handle broke and made me pinch my hand between the 2 pieces mead me smash my hands together and i got a cut on my hand and the edge of the broken handle cut my arm. i thought these were sturdy but when it broke I could see they look like plastic or something inside the handle that was bolted together with the 2 handles.
I purchased a pair of "Hedge Shear" from Dollar General. The first time I went to use them on my rose bushes the handles bent together as you applied pressure to the handles. The handles close in on your thumbs. I had bruises on both thumbs. I was only trimming very small rose bushes. As I checked the handles, you could see the metal between the handle grips and the blade will bend with very little effort, which would be very dangerous if I had been using them on a branch of tree.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to manual hedge trimmers on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are manual hedge trimmers?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, manual hedge trimmers have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,459 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from manual hedge trimmers?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 17,952 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from manual hedge trimmers increasing or decreasing?
Up 57% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for manual hedge trimmers injuries?
The 55-64 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 6,231 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by manual hedge trimmers?
Of all ER visits involving manual hedge trimmers, approximately 2.9% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (97.1%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with manual hedge trimmers?
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 Lawn & Garden Equipment
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 55-64 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.
