Other Manual Pruning Or Trimming Equipment
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 1453
Down 24% over 5 years
The verdict
Other Manual Pruning Or Trimming Equipment carry a danger score of 30/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,102 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 24% over the last five years.
- 30/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,102
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 3.2%
- end in hospital admission
- 55-64
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1453 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 30/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for other manual pruning or trimming equipment - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,102 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)3.2%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-24%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Other Manual Pruning Or Trimming Equipment (CPSC product code 1453, in the Lawn & Garden Equipment category) generate an estimated 1,102 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 22,030 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 30/100 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 24% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2016 (1,739 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2008 (530 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for other manual pruning or trimming equipment is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 10,019 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (1,721 cases). The 55-64 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 5,735 cases over the NEISS window, and females appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 3.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 12 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how other manual pruning or trimming equipment 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 | 119 | 227 | |
| 5-14 | 468 | 225 | |
| 15-24 | 886 | 411 | |
| 25-34 | 805 | 529 | |
| 35-44 | 1,513 | 992 | |
| 45-54 | 2,034 | 2,593 | |
| 55-64 | 2,855 | 2,880 | |
| 65-74 | 1,420 | 1,873 | |
| 75+ | 1,485 | 706 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Avulsion | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Finger | Amputation | |
| Knee | Laceration | |
| Wrist | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Upper Leg | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
57YOM WAS BENT OVER TO PICK UP HIS SHOES AND HIT HIS EYE AGAINST SOME OPEN GARDEN SHEARS. DX: EYEBALL LACERATION
85YOM WITH LOW BACK PAIN X 2 WEEKS HE WAS PLANTING AND TRIMMING HEDGES AND THINGS HE MAY HAVE OVERDONE IT. PAIN RADIATES DOWN LEG. DX: LUMBAGO WITH SCIATICA
59 YOF C/O INJ TO FINGER WHEN SHE CUT IT WHILE GARDENING WITH A PAIR OF GARDEN SHEARS AT HOME DX LAC FINGER
22YOM C/O LACERATION. WAS TURKEY HUNTING AND HAD A PAIR OF LIMB SNIPS IN HIS BACK POCKET. WHEN HE SAT DOWN THE SNIPS LACERATED HIS BUTTOCKS. 2 CM LACERATION REPAIRED WITH SUTURES. DX: LACERATION RIGHT BUTTOCK
33YOM, CUTTING DOWN TREE, TREE LANDED ON HIS LEG DX: ACUTE DIAPHYSEAL FRACTURES TIBIA & FIBULA
72YOM ACCIDENTALLY DROPPED TRIMMING SHEARS ONTO HIS LEFT ANKLE DX: LACERATION OF LEFT ANKLE
61YOF PRESENTS WITH CHEST PAIN AFTER DOING SOME YARD WORK AND TRIMMING A VERY LARGE TREE WITH HAND CLIPPERS. PER PROVIDER, MOST LIKELY RELATED TO MUSCULOSKELETAL/CHEST WALL CAUSES IN THE CONTEXT OF INCREASED PHYSICAL EXERTION FROM TRIMMING THE TREE YESTERDAY. DX: PAIN CHEST
77YOM PRESENTS WITH A FINGER LACERATION THAT WAS SUSTAINED WHILE CUTTING LIMBS WITH A SHEARS IN HIS YARD. HE HAS A CUT ON THE LEFT MIDDLE FINGER WITH PAIN SCALE 3/10. DX: LACERATION WITHOUT FOREIGN BODY LEFT MIDDLE FINGER WITH DAMAGE TO NAIL.
79YOM USING MANUAL PRUNING SHEARS AT HOME, TRIMMING HIS BUSHES, CUT LT THUMB. DX: LAC FINGER
37 YOM WAS USING SHEARS IN HIS YARD TO CUT BLACKBERRIES WHEN HE LACERATED HIS FINGER. DX: LACERATION RIGHT RING FINGER
68YOM WAS TRIMMING A TREE WHEN A BRANCH BOUNCED UP HITTING HIM IN THE FACE. DX: FACIAL LACERATION
69YOF CUT FINGER USING GARDEN SHEARS. DX: LEFT 5TH FINGER LAC
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
While cutting branches the lower handle on 32" Fiskers Lopper model 6154 broke almost causing a cut on my arm
On September 25, 2016 I was using the Fiskars lopping shears to cut my mother's tree. We believe it is model number 9143. It snapped when I was cutting a branch and the metal shears flew back into my chin, causing swelling and intense bruising. We attempted to contact Fiskars directly, but only received an email saying they were processing our warranty, which is clearly not our primary concern.
Was pruning a tree with Fiskars 32 Powergear Bypass Loppers model number 6954 when the handle snapped causing me to punch myself, lose balance on the ladder, and nearly fall.
handle broke when cutting and squezed my finger realy hard.
Got injured ( lacerations to ear and neck) by falling element from Fiskars 16'pruner with telescoping arm. Could have killed me if I had not dodged it
While trimming some hedges and small trees, I pinched my thumb. In addition, my thumb was cut in two different places from the pinching.
Finger sliced while using Fiskars Softgrip Garden Multi-Snip
I was using my 14 foot Fiskars telescoping tree pruner. While sawing, the orange "handle" covering the shaft detached from the telescoping clamp and came off of the pruner. I searched for information and found a recall notice for Fiskars [REDACTED] pruners that suffered the same exact problem. Fiskars makes it clear that their recall ONLY APPLIES to [REDACTED] pruners.
Showing 8 of 12 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to other manual pruning or trimming equipment on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are other manual pruning or trimming equipment?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, other manual pruning or trimming equipment have a danger score of 30/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,102 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from other manual pruning or trimming equipment?
The most common injury is laceration to the finger, accounting for approximately 10,019 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from other manual pruning or trimming equipment increasing or decreasing?
Down 24% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for other manual pruning or trimming equipment injuries?
The 55-64 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 5,735 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by other manual pruning or trimming equipment?
Of all ER visits involving other manual pruning or trimming equipment, approximately 3.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with other manual pruning or trimming equipment?
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 30/100 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.
