Danger score versus ER volume
Danger score versus ER volume
According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Other Toy Guns ranks #526 of 838 by danger score (33/100) at ER-volume #498 of 838 (1,274/yr). They are not the same ranking.
- #526
- danger rank of 838
- #498
- ER-volume rank of 838
- 33/100
- danger score
- 1,274/yr
- estimated ER visits (avg)
Danger score combines injury volume, hospitalization, fatality, and five-year trend. ER volume is the average annual NEISS estimate alone. Rank 1 is highest on each list.
Where this category's danger score sits nationally
Danger score (33/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories
33 Lower than most lower than 63% of 838 product categories
scored CPSC product categories, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more product categories. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source CPSC NEISS, PlainSafety danger-score model · 2024
Composite verdict
Composite Safety Score: 36/100
One verdict blending 4 independently-sourced dimensions from two separate CPSC systems, each benchmarked against all 838 scored product categories by percentile rather than raw value, so no single huge-volume category can dominate the scale.
| Dimension | Value | National percentile | Weight applied | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) | 1 | 4th | 35% | CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index |
| Annual ER injury volume | 1,274 | 37th | 30% | CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries |
| 5-year injury trend | +19% | 81st | 15% | CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries |
| Consumer incident reports | 17 | 54th | 20% | CPSC SaferProducts.gov public incident report count |
Methodology: each dimension is ranked against the full population's p10/p25/p50/p75/p90 breakpoints and interpolated to a 0-100 percentile; the composite is the weighted average of available percentiles. See methodology for the full benchmark table.
Where 25,496 estimated ER injuries land on the body
Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 5006. Segments sum to 25,496 - a body-map mix, not a danger score or ER-volume rank.
Two danger lenses
Same-group peer scores and this product's dial
The bars compare PlainSafety danger scores inside the Swimming, Water & Beach Equipment group (same CPSC NEISS extract). The dial is this product's score alone on the Low/Moderate/High bands. Do not read a peer bar as an ER-visit count.
Swimming, Water & Beach Equipment danger scores
How this 33/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for other toy guns - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume 1,274 ER visits/yr Below median volume
- Severity (hospitalization rate) 0.6% Low admission rate
- Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
- 5-year trend+19%
Band labels compare this category against the corpus of 838 scored CPSC product categories, see the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Across the 20-year NEISS window from 2005 to 2024, injury counts for other toy guns are rising by about 19% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2022 (1,997 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2014 (636 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 5,765 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the head (2,858 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 16,128 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 0.6% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 17 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how other toy guns 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 Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 3,342 | 773 | |
| 5-14 | 11,552 | 4,576 | |
| 15-24 | 1,244 | 1,361 | |
| 25-34 | 425 | 627 | |
| 35-44 | 372 | 291 | |
| 45-54 | 71 | 323 | |
| 55-64 | 163 | 93 | |
| 65-74 | 51 | 106 | |
| 75+ | 0 | 112 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ear | Other | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Eyeball | Derma/conjunct | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
8 YOM BROTHER THREW A PLASTIC TOY GUN, IT HIT HIM IN MOUTH. DX LIP LACERATION
58 YOM WAS INJURED IN GROIN BY WATER GUN DX: PAIN
8YOF CHILD WAS PLAYING LASER TAG, REPORTS SHOULDER PAIN DX: ACUTE PAIN OF RIGHT SHOULDER
8YOM WITH ACCIDENTALLY BEING HIT BY A WATER GUN AT CAMP DX: LAC TO FACE
18 YOF WAS PLAYING WITH WATER GUNS YESTERDAY AND DEVELOPED EAR PAIN. DX: EAR PAIN
10YOF WAS PLAYING WITH A SQUIRT GUN IN A SWIMMING POOL AND WAS ACCIDENTALLY HIT IN THE FACE WITH IT DX: LACERATION FACE
8 YOM HIT ON TOP OF HEAD WITH WATER GUN BY BROTHER DX SCALP LACERATION, PT LEFT AMA
19 YOM WAS HIT IN THE HEAD WITH A SQUIRT GUN. DX: LACERATION OF SCALP
30YOF WITH HIT IN HEAD BY WATER GUN ACCIDENTALLY DX: CHI
17YOM PRESENTS WITH A FOREAHEAD LACERATION AFTER A FRIEND THREW A SQUIRT GUN AND HIT HIM IN THE HEAD. DX; LACERATION TO FOREHEAD
34YOM WAS PLAYING WITH WATER GUN THAT CONTAINED SMALL PELLETS AND WAS ACCIDENTALL HIT TO EYE, DX: PHOTOPHOBIA OF RIGHT EYE; TRAUMATIC IRITIS
37YOF INJURED HER LEG PLAYING LASER TAG W/ HER KIDS. DX: STR CALF MUSCLE
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Friend bought some water shooters for the kids to play with. They were left outside for a few days. One of the boys hit the shooter against the deck and it shattered into sharp and dangerous shards. So did one of the other shooters.
The Max D 5000 Super Soaker reservoir was filled with tap water. I pumped the gun with about 10 - 12 strokes. Just as I stopped pumping, the reservoir exploded violently, sending shards of the reservoir wall, as well as water, all around me. One of the shrapnel struck me in the neck causing a 1 inch laceration. Luckily nothing hit my eyes, nor hit any of the children around me. This Max D 5000 Super Soaker is about 8 - 10 yrs. old. It was functioning well prior to the failure. However, due to its age, it was a bit weather-beatened. It was noticed after the explosion that the plastic shards from the reservoir were brittle
While using the water squirter, the piston pulled out. I attempted to reassemble the toy and my fingers touched the gasket end. It was covered in a milky colored grease. I washed it off as well as I could with liquid soap and warm water several times. Every piece of skin which touched the grease became completely numb. 5 hours later if is still without feeling.
The bubble gun caught on fire at some point. I have no idea when it happened. I bought the bubble gun for an Easter present in March 2025. Have used it a few time since. I went to let my child use it and it didnt turn on. I opened the batteries to find it completely melted the plastic. I notified the company and they didnt care.
My 9-year-old daughter had her front tooth broken by The Original Max Liquidator. The toy was being used as designed and she was shooting water into the air. The toy was pressured up and her hand slipped off the plunger. The result was the compress air forced the plunger and plastic cap back into her front tooth. The tooth was shattered. We had to go to emergency dental hospital. She will have to have extensive dental work now for the rest of her life.
My 1 yr old got her finger tip cut on toy
Son was playing with plastic watergun from the Dollar Tree (Greenbrier International Inc.) And the toy exploded and left multiple cuts on his face.
Bubble gun child got finger stuck in the toy where the bubbles came out. It sucked finger in and caused bruising. The same thing happened to my niece. This product must be recalled! I also saw multiple reviews on toy that stated the same thing happening.
Showing 8 of 17 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to other toy guns on the CPSC website.
Compare beyond Swimming, Water & Beach Equipment
Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization
Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Other Toy Guns: cross-group products nearest on danger score (33/100), estimated annual ER visits (1,274/yr), and hospitalization share (0.6%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.
Similar danger score
Nearest cross-group products by PlainSafety danger score (100-point scale).
Similar ER visit volume
Nearest cross-group products by NEISS estimated annual ER visits.
Similar hospitalization rate
Nearest cross-group products by % of NEISS ER visits resulting in hospital admission.
Related Products in Swimming, Water & Beach Equipment
Read with this product
About this data
CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports form the basis of this page. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments.
According to PlainSafety's CPSC NEISS corpus ranking, Other Toy Guns ranks #526 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #498 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does other toy guns rank on danger score versus ER volume?
Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, other toy guns ranks #526 by PlainSafety danger score (33/100) and #498 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (1,274/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.
What are the most common injuries from other toy guns?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 5,765 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from other toy guns increasing or decreasing?
Up 19% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for other toy guns injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 16,128 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by other toy guns?
Of all ER visits involving other toy guns, approximately 0.6% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (99.4%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with other toy guns?
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.
PlainSafety is rendered directly from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recall and incident records, no number is typed in by an editor. Product recall timelines and hazard labels are drawn from CPSC recall records for this product. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.