Manual Snow Or Ice Removal Tools
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 1415
Down 43% over 5 years
The verdict
Manual Snow Or Ice Removal Tools carry a danger score of 44/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 24,997 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 43% over the last five years.
- 44/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 24,997
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 8.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 45-54
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1415 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 44/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for manual snow or ice removal tools - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume24,997 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)8.7%
- Fatality rate0.58%
- 5-year trend-43%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Manual Snow Or Ice Removal Tools (CPSC product code 1415, in the Lawn & Garden Equipment category) generate an estimated 24,997 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 499,939 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 44/100 for this category (moderate 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 43% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2014 (48,817 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2006 (9,439 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for manual snow or ice removal tools is strain, sprain to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 78,652 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by other to the upper trunk (72,876 cases). The 45-54 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 103,336 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 8.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.58%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 1 consumer incident report filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how manual snow or ice removal tools 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 | 1,783 | 712 | |
| 5-14 | 8,747 | 4,203 | |
| 15-24 | 22,004 | 10,270 | |
| 25-34 | 51,323 | 25,072 | |
| 35-44 | 62,393 | 31,878 | |
| 45-54 | 70,667 | 32,669 | |
| 55-64 | 55,200 | 27,648 | |
| 65-74 | 34,448 | 18,061 | |
| 75+ | 26,716 | 16,020 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Shoulder | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Nerve Damage | |
| All Parts Body | Other | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Knee | Other | |
| Wrist | Strain, Sprain | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
67 YOM C/O INJ TO NECK-PAIN AFTER MOVING AND LIFTING SNOW AT HOME DX NECK PAIN
72 YOF WAS SHOVELING SNOW AND FELL HIT HEAD DX: HEAD INJURY
57 YOM WITH LOW BACK PAIN AFTER SHOVELING SNOW DX: PAIN
57 YOM INJ BACK AFTER SHOVELING SNOW AND MOVING BOXES AT HOME DX LUMBAR STRAIN ;
47YOF PRESENT TO ED C/O LOW BACK PX IN LUMBAR REGION AFTER SHOVELING SNOW 2D AGO.PT HASNT SHOVELED SNOW IN YEARS.THE DAY AFTER HAD TIGHTNESS IN LOW BACK.NO RADIATION OF PX TO BUTTOCK/LES.NO OTHER SX/COMPLAINTSDX:ACUTE MYOFASCIAL STRAIN OF LUMBOSACRAL REGION
84YOM PRESENTS TO ED FOR 4 WKS PROGRESSIVE W/ SOB. YESTERDAY PT WAS EATTING AND NOTICED SOB WHIEL EATING. PT ENDORSED WORKIGN SHOVELIGN SNOW YESTERDAY. DX: ACUTE ON CHRONIC SYSTOLIC CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
72YOM PRESENTS TO ED FOR CHEST PAIN. PAIN HAS CHEST PAIN RADIATING TO BEACK AND LEFT ARM X1 DAY. PT STATES STARTED YESTERDAY AFTER COMPLAINING OF SUBSTERNAL CHEST PAIN AFTER SHOVELING SNOW. PT STAES YESTERDAY TOOK ASPIRIN AND *** WHICH RESOLVED W/ PAIN. PT WAS WALKING TO KITCHEN ADN STARTED TO HAVE PAIN. DX: EXERTIONAL CHEST PAIN
49YOF PATIENT WAS SHOVELING SNOW TODAY, SHE BEGAN TO HAVE SOME INCREASED ABDOMINAL PAIN DX: UMBILICAL HERNIA WITHOUT OBSTRUCTION AND WITHOUT GANGRENE, PERIUMBILICAL ABDOMINAL PAIN
45YOM PATIENT REPORTS CHEST PAIN, HE STATES HE MOVED LAST WEEK, HAS BEEN LIFTING HEAVIER AT THE GYM, AND SHOVELING SNOW DX: ANXIETY, COSTOCHONDRITS, PARESTHESIA, WHEEZE
49YOF TO ED WITH C/O SHOULDER PAIN AFTER SHOVELING SNOW, DX SHOULDER PAIN
64YOM PRESENTS WITH CHEST PAIN, ABDOMINAL PAIN AND LIMB ACHES AFTER HE SHOVELED HIS SNOW IN FRONT OF HIS DOMICILE FOR ABOUT 45 MINUTES DX: MYALGIA
47 YOM C/O SHOULDER PAIN S/P SHOVELING SNOW. DX: SHOULDER PAIN
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
My wife ought a pushable snow plow on amazon. The plow portion is curve and has sharp teeth at the bottom. These teeth are aimed at like a 45 degree angle instead of parallel to the ground, so they dig into the ground instead of riding on the ground. I was using this to plow snow on our driveway, the teeth caught and my feet slipped out from underneath me and I fell flat on my face, landing on my left wrist. I think I bruised ribs and injured my wrist.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to manual snow or ice removal tools on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are manual snow or ice removal tools?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, manual snow or ice removal tools have a danger score of 44/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 24,997 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from manual snow or ice removal tools?
The most common injury is strain, sprain to the lower trunk, accounting for approximately 78,652 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from manual snow or ice removal tools increasing or decreasing?
Down 43% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for manual snow or ice removal tools injuries?
The 45-54 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 103,336 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by manual snow or ice removal tools?
Of all ER visits involving manual snow or ice removal tools, approximately 8.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (91.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with manual snow or ice removal tools?
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 44/100 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 45-54 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.
