Manual Scissors
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.
Containers, Tableware & Packaging · CPSC Code 420
Down 27% over 5 years
The verdict
Manual Scissors carry a danger score of 35/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 11,091 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 27% over the last five years.
- 35/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 11,091
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 1.5%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 420 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 35/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for manual scissors - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume11,091 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)1.5%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-27%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Manual Scissors (CPSC product code 420, in the Containers, Tableware & Packaging category) generate an estimated 11,091 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 221,827 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 35/100 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 27% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (15,955 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2024 (6,027 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for manual scissors is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 113,975 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (28,165 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 56,025 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 1.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 6 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how manual scissors 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 | 13,336 | 10,664 | |
| 5-14 | 29,643 | 26,311 | |
| 15-24 | 14,024 | 19,262 | |
| 25-34 | 8,348 | 15,132 | |
| 35-44 | 7,611 | 14,029 | |
| 45-54 | 6,335 | 12,655 | |
| 55-64 | 7,000 | 12,024 | |
| 65-74 | 5,979 | 7,990 | |
| 75+ | 4,179 | 7,227 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Ear | Laceration | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Hand | Puncture | |
| Upper Leg | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Toe | Laceration | |
| Finger | Puncture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
4YOF PRESENTS FROM SCHOOL AFTER BEING CUT ON HER LEFT EAR WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS BY ANOTHER STUDENT DX: LEFT EAR LACERATION
13YOM STEPPED ON A SCISSORS THAT WAS ON THE FLOOR AND CUT HIS TOE DX LACERATION TO TOE
45YOF WAS TRYING TO CUT HER EYEBROW HAIR AND ACCIDENTALLY POKED LEFT EYE WITH THE SCISSORS DX: CORNEAL ABRASION
^28YOF TO ER FOR LACERATION TO RIGHT HIGH, PT WAS CUT ON SCISSORS THAT WERE IN THE POCKET OF HER CAR DOOR & WERE POINTED OUTWARD & PT SUSTAINED LACERATION TO THE RIGHT THIGH, PT NEEDS TETNUS, OCCURED 1 HR AGO DX LACERATION OF RIGHT THIGH
53YOM WITH CUTTING TOE WITH SCISSORS DX: LAC TO TOE
23MOM TO ER W/ MOM AFTER PT ACCIDENTAL CUT HIS LIP W/ PAIR OF SCISSORS AT HOME, MOM & PT LEFT W/O COMPLETING SERVICE DX LWCS
8YOM ACCIDENTALLY POKED HIS LEFT EYELID WITH A PAIR OF SCISSORS DX: LACERATION EYELID
38YOF C/O FINGER LACERATION S/P PT CUT HER FINGER WITH A PAIR OF HAIR SCISSORS. DX: FINGER LACERATION
47YOF WITH LAC TO FINGER FROM SCISSORS DX: LAC TO FINGER
32YOM WAS GETTING HIS HAIR CUT WHEN HE GOT KNICKED ON THE UPPER LIP BY A PAIR OF SCISSORS AND SUSTAINED AN AVULSION THAT GOT INFECTED DX: CELLULITIS TO LIP
7YOM, ACCIDENTALLY GOT HIS FINGER ON A PAIR OF SCISSORS WHILE WORKING ON A SCHOOL PROJECT, DX: LACERATION OF LEFT INDEX FINGER WITHOUT DAMAGE TO NAIL
30YOF WAS HANDLING A CLEAN PAIR OF MANUAL SCISSORS AND ACCIDENTALLY CUT LEFT INDEX FINGER DX: LACERATION TO FINGER
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
This caller is a safety technician with a school where a kindergartner cut off the end of his index finger of his left hand using school scissors item# unavailable Serial# 358613060. These scissors were purchased by the parents of the child and sold as approved for pre-K. The caller states that the end of the scissors are rounded but per his observation the cutting portion is very sharp. The caller does not know how much of the index finger was cut off, only that it was the end of the finger. On August 25th, 2015 the child was cutting paper during a supervised student activity to cut shapes and add them up while learning Math. The child was taken to St. Mary's emergency room in West Palm Beach, FL by his parents who then contacted the school to request the portion of the finger that was cut off but all the school found was a nail and some flesh that could be immediately identified by sight as the tip of a finger. The caller believes that the parents picked this finger part up for the emergency room. The child was back in school the following day. The manufacturer has not been contacted and if a claim is filed then an administrator will contact them.
I purchased a pair of Danco Sports, INC. "Colored Bait Shears". on the first use out of the package, the shears came apart. One of the blades fell onto my shoe and pierced the shoe. There is a hole in my shoe. This poses a serious possibility of injury.
Fiskars Folding Scissors do not move the way they are supposed to: one side moves, the other does not, then when I try to close them, the blades move out toward the side that will not move. THen the scissors will not close to the safety position.
i have an oxo scissors. This scissors come apart so you can clean it. However, i was holding the scissors and it came apart and it fell. It almost hit my daughter. This product should be recalled. scissor's edge is very sharp and it could've caused a serious damage if it fell on my daugher.
JA Henckels Poultry Shears serrated blade broke off at the pin and flew toward me cutting my hand and foot. I was using them to cut some soft flower stems. I have photos. I am very concerned about this - the injury could have been more serious
My daughter was using Fiskar's blunt tip child's safety scissors and she cut the tip of her finger off.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to manual scissors on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are manual scissors?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, manual scissors have a danger score of 35/100 (low risk). An estimated 11,091 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from manual scissors?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 113,975 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from manual scissors increasing or decreasing?
Down 27% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for manual scissors injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 56,025 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by manual scissors?
Of all ER visits involving manual scissors, approximately 1.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (98.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with manual scissors?
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 Containers, Tableware & Packaging
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 35/100 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 5-14 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.
