CPSC NEISS · code 536

Photographic Equipment

Photographic Equipment: danger rank #313 of 838 is not ER-volume rank #432 of 838 (1,935 estimated ER visits a year; rising by about 23% over the last five years).

Home Structures & Construction Materials CPSC NEISS through 2024

Danger score versus ER volume

Danger score versus ER volume

According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Photographic Equipment ranks #313 of 838 by danger score (37/100) at ER-volume #432 of 838 (1,935/yr). They are not the same ranking.

#313
danger rank of 838
#432
ER-volume rank of 838
37/100
danger score
1,935/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 (37/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories

37 Around the middle lower than 37% 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: 62/100

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.

D
Dimension Value National percentile Weight applied Source
Injury severity (hospitalization + fatality blend) 6 53rd 35% CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index
Annual ER injury volume 1,935 47th 30% CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries
5-year injury trend +23% 83rd 15% CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries
Consumer incident reports 135 87th 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 38,715 estimated ER injuries land on the body

Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 536. Segments sum to 38,715 - 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 Home Structures & Construction Materials 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.

Home Structures & Construction Materials danger scores

1. Telephones Or Telephone A…45/1002. Computers (equipment And …42/1003. Televisions40/1004. Other Sound Recording, Re…39/1005. Record Players (self-cont…38/1006. Stereo Or Hi-fi Component…38/1007. Television Tables Or Stan…38/1008. Photographic Equipment37/100
Higher score = higher composite danger in this group. Peer set is other scored products sharing the same CPSC group.
0/100100/10037/100
PlainSafety danger score · Photographic Equipment

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 37/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for photographic equipment - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume 1,935 ER visits/yr Below median volume
  • Severity (hospitalization rate) 6.2% Above median admission rate
  • Fatality rate 0.00% No recorded fatalities
  • 5-year trend+23%

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 photographic equipment are rising by about 23% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2019 (2,905 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2016 (1,270 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 3,726 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (2,788 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 5,903 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 6.2% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 135 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how photographic 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)

1K2K2K3K3K 20052008201120142017202020232024 3K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Photographic Equipment, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 1,842 1,347 3,189
5-14 1,725 1,623 3,348
15-24 2,840 3,063 5,903
25-34 2,326 2,649 4,975
35-44 2,055 2,957 5,012
45-54 1,383 2,859 4,242
55-64 2,443 2,443 4,886
65-74 1,986 2,359 4,345
75+ 1,286 1,515 2,801

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Head Internal Injury 3,726
Face Laceration 2,788
Face Contusions, Abr. 1,450
Head Laceration 1,406
Lower Trunk Other 1,369
Finger Laceration 1,208
Upper Trunk Contusions, Abr. 1,143
Upper Trunk Other 1,017
Head Concussion 914
Wrist Fracture 880
Ankle Strain, Sprain 853
Foot Fracture 805
Ankle Fracture 737
Mouth Laceration 670
Lower Trunk Contusions, Abr. 647

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 91.2% (35,307)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 5.5% (2,138)
Left Without Being Seen 1.3% (511)
Treated And Transferred 1.2% (479)
Held For Observation 0.7% (280)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 46 · Female · Finger · Avulsion · 2024

46 YOF INJURED FINGER WHILE HOOKING CAMERA ONTO CAMPER WITH A MAGNET, PINCHED FINGER. DX-AVULSION RIGHT INDEX FINGER

Age 43 · Male · Head · Internal Injury · 2024

43 YOM HAS A LAC TO RT TEMPLE AFTER HITTING HEAD ON SECURITY CAMERA. DX: CHI, SCALP LAC

Age 46 · Female · Face · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

46YOF C/O LEFT EYE INJURY, AFTER HER GRANDAUGHTER ACCIDENTALLY HIT HER EYEBROW WITH A LATERAL CAMERA HOOKED TO A SLING. DX: CONTUSION OF FACE

Age 23 · Male · All Parts Body · Poisoning · 2024

23YOM W/REPORT OF SYNCOPE.DIDN'T EAT ANYTHING TODAY,HAD A COUPLE OF DRINKS OF ALCOHOL & SMOKED SOME MARIJUANA WHEN HE ARRIVED AT PARTY.WAS TAKING PICTURES IN THE PHOTO BOOTH,STOOD UP&FELT LIGHTHEADED,HAD BLURRED VISION&PASSED OUT FOR A FEW SECONDS. BAL N/S. DX: SYNCOPE

Age 55 · Female · Lower Arm · Fracture · 2024

55YOF WAS CARRYING HER CAMERA EQUIPMENT WHILE WALKING AND FELL FORWARD ONTO OUTSTRETCHED LEFT ARM DX:FRACTURED LEFT RADIUS

Age 23 · Male · Lower Trunk · Other · 2024

^23YOM STATES THAT HE WAS ON TOP OF HIS TRUCK TAKING PICTURES WHEN HE TRIPPED BACKWARDS AND HAD TO FALL ONTO HIS BUTTOCKS DX: ACUTE LOW BACK PAIN

Age 64 · Female · Knee · Laceration · 2024

64 YOF TRIPPED ON THE SIDEWALK AT THE BEACH WHILE TAKING PHOTOS. +ABRASIONS PINKY FINGER, RIGHT ANKLE. DX: LACERATION RIGHT KNEE, MULTIPLE ABRASIONS.

Age 26 · Female · Ankle · Other · 2024

26YOF SAYS WAS DOING FAMILY PICTURES W/ HER CHILDREN & TWISTED HER RIGHT ANKLE DX INJURY RIGHT ANKLE

Age 57 · Male · Hand · Fracture · 2024

57YOM PRESENTS AFTER SLIP AND FALL IN APARTMENT. PT SAYS HE WAS VIDEO-TAPING HIS CEILING DRIPPING, WHEN HE SLIPPED AND HIT THE LEFT SIDE OF HIS HEAD, HAD A BRIEF LOC. REPORTS PAIN T/O ENTIRE SPINE, LEFT WRIST PAIN, DX: CLOSED FX OF LEFT HAND

Age 73 · Male · Elbow · Laceration · 2024

73YOM PT OUT IN THE FIELD PHOTOGRAPHING GEESE, WHILE BACKING UP PT FELL BACKWARDS ONTO RT ELBOW DX: ELBOW LAC

Age 84 · Female · Finger · Fracture · 2024

84YOF PRESENTS WITH FINGER INJURY. PATIENT REPORTS EARLIER TODAY SHE WAS OUT IN THE PARK TAKING PICTURES WHEN SHE TRIPPED OVER A STICK AND FELL CATCHING HERSELF ON HER HAND AND SMASHING HER CAMERA ON HER RING FINGER. DX: RING FINGER FRACTURE

Age 80 · Female · Lower Trunk · Fracture · 2024

80YOF, HISTORY OF ALZHEIMER DEMENTIA LIVES HOME ALONE WITH DAILY CARETAKER VISITS, OBSERVED BY FAMILY ON HOME CAMERA AND WASN'T SEEN FOR 4 HOURS AND FOUND DOWN ON THE GROUND DX: FALL INITIAL ENCOUNTER; PAIN OF LEFT HIP; CLOSED NONDISPLACED INTERTROCHANTERIC FRACTURE OF LEFT FEMUR

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

9/7/2021 · Injury, Hospital Admission · TECELKS · Oregon

Child opened battery compartment as there was no screw, ate battery wand it got lodged in his esophagus.

9/5/2023 · Incident, No Injury · Udisense Inc. · California

We use the Nanit baby monitor. I removed the camera from its floor stand to use with a travel stand. This is a common thing to do with the camera as it is meant to be removable for travel. A few hours later we noticed a piece of metal in the baby’s crib. A prong had come detached from the stand and fallen into the crib. Thankfully we noticed before the baby was placed in the crib, but he could have swallowed it. It’s a small piece so I did not notice when it fell off.

9/5/2013 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · OSRAM SYLVANIA, Inc. · California

When removing the Sylvania 7" Digital Photo Frame AC Adapter from the surge protector, the adapter was removed with the prongs still in the surge protector and giving my husband an electrical shock.

9/26/2023 · Incident, No Injury · GoPro, Inc. · Canada

While heli-skiing in February 2022, my GoPro camera locked up and stopped recording video. I lost around 20 minutes of video though the audio kept recording. At the time I could not tell what the problem was and swapped out batteries. A few months ago (2023), I noticed that there was something wrong with the battery because it would not come out of the camera - it is bulged out on each long side. Since it is a Lithium-ion battery, and a potential fire hazard upon failure, I thought I should document this.

9/26/2013 · Injury, Level of care not known · DXG Technology Corp · Florida

After opening the box, we inserted the cameras battery into the charger. We then plugged the wall cable into the charger and finally into the outlet. When plugging the charger into the wall, the charger shot sparks out of the side and I received a minor electrical shock. I immediately unplugged the charger and you could smell the burnt charger and battery.

9/22/2014 · Incident, No Injury · LOREX · Texas

I purchased the Lorel Care n Share baby monitor with 2 cameras for my children. Within a month of using it the battery life was cut in half, within 2 months it had to remain on the charger. From there the sound stopped working. From there the video stopped showing live and would show a stale image that refreshed every 30 seconds or so. Now the camera is hot and not working at all and the battery is swollen. So it went from not working well to being dangerous. If you visit the Lorex Technology [REDACTED]page you can see that many many others are experiencing the same things. Lorex won't respond via phone, e-mail or online. So many people are losing money and being exposed to dangerous products!

9/22/2014 · Incident, No Injury · LOREX · Colorado

I have a Lorex baby care monitor, the BB4325X. The battery pack included with this model becomes hot and expands pushing the door off the back of the monitor. I contacted the company and they sent me a replacement monitor, then the battery pack expanded again within 2 weeks. Now I cannot get ahold of them, they don't return calls or emails and they will not address this unsafe product.

9/2/2017 · Incident, No Injury · Flir Lorex Inc · New York

After using this product for over a year the battery expanded and pushed the back of the monitor out. This battery is used as a back up if the power goes out. I have seen other products from this company with the same problem. Battery info: JS 404380 3000mah 11.1wh 100129 20140225 3.7v There needs to be a recall on all Lorex products with this battery.

Showing 8 of 135 reports.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to photographic equipment on the CPSC website.

Compare beyond Home Structures & Construction Materials

Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization

Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Photographic Equipment: cross-group products nearest on danger score (37/100), estimated annual ER visits (1,935/yr), and hospitalization share (6.2%). Same-group neighbours stay in Related Products above.

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, Photographic Equipment ranks #313 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #432 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does photographic equipment rank on danger score versus ER volume?

Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, photographic equipment ranks #313 by PlainSafety danger score (37/100) and #432 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (1,935/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.

What are the most common injuries from photographic equipment?

The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 3,726 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from photographic equipment increasing or decreasing?

Up 23% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for photographic equipment injuries?

The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 5,903 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by photographic equipment?

Of all ER visits involving photographic equipment, approximately 6.2% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (93.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with photographic 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.

Data on Photographic Equipment is compiled directly from CPSC NEISS and SaferProducts.gov records, current through 2024. See our methodology for details.

Disclaimer: This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.

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.