Pull-down Or Folding Stairs
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.
Building Materials & Home Structures · CPSC Code 1840
Down 54% over 5 years
The verdict
Pull-down Or Folding Stairs carry a danger score of 30/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 1,158 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 54% over the last five years.
- 30/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 1,158
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 7.1%
- end in hospital admission
- 35-44
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1840 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 30/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for pull-down or folding stairs - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume1,158 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)7.1%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-54%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Pull-down Or Folding Stairs (CPSC product code 1840, in the Building Materials & Home Structures category) generate an estimated 1,158 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 23,158 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 54% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2011 (2,411 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2024 (353 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for pull-down or folding stairs is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 2,020 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the head (1,778 cases). The 35-44 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 5,146 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 7.1% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 2 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how pull-down or folding stairs 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 | 51 | 185 | |
| 5-14 | 277 | 162 | |
| 15-24 | 749 | 498 | |
| 25-34 | 1,322 | 1,598 | |
| 35-44 | 2,440 | 2,706 | |
| 45-54 | 2,468 | 2,306 | |
| 55-64 | 1,613 | 2,379 | |
| 65-74 | 1,030 | 1,348 | |
| 75+ | 1,159 | 863 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Trunk | Other |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
53YOF WAS PULLING DOWN ATTIC PULL DOWN STAIRS AND IT HIT HER IN HEAD DX:CONCUSSION
32YOF WAS IN THE ATTIC GETTING CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS AND FELL DOWN PULL DOWN STAIRS STRIKING HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY, LAC SCALP
11YOM WAS PULLING DOWN AN OVERHEAD STAIRWAY WHEN SOMETHING FELL INTO RIGHT EYE DX: FOREIGN OBJECT EYEBALL
47YOM WAS IN HIS ATTIC WHEN HE FELL DOWN THE PULL-DOWN STAIRS ABOUT EIGHT FEET LANDING ONTO BUTTOCKS DX: COMPRESSION FRACTURE LOWER BACK
70YOM WAS IN THE ATTIC WHEN THE PULLED DOWN LADDER CAME DOWN ONTO HIS RIGHT FOREARM DX: CONTUSION FOREARM
61YOM WAS WALKING DOWN THE PULL DOWN ATTIC STAIRS AND LOST FOOTING STRIKING HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY, FRACTURED LOWER BACK
48YOM WAS PULLING DOWN THE ATTIC STAIR PULL DOWN LADDER AND IT STRUCK HIM IN THE HEAD DX: LACERATION SCALP
59YOM STRUCK BY FOLDING STAIRS WHILE CLEANING OUT HIS ATTIC. DX: FACIAL FX
5YOF PRESENTS WITH A RIGHT FOOT/ANKLE INJURY AFTER A STAIRCASE FELL ON HER. PER MOM, THE STAIRCASE IS ONE THAT WOULD BE USED TO GAIN ACCESS TO AN ATTIC. FATHER ESTIMATES STAIRCASE IS SEVERAL HUNDRED POUNDS. SIGNIFICANT SWELLING AND BRUISING AND IS UNABLE TO BEAR WEIGHT. FXS TO MEDIAL/LATERAL CUNEIFORMS, CUBOID, AND POSSIBLE 2ND METATARSAL. DX: MULTIPLE CLOSED FRACTURES OF RIGHT FOOT.
72YOF KNEE PAIN AND FOREARM LAC WHEN FALL FROM TOP OF METAL ATTIC STEPS
68 YOF FROM HOME WAS PULLING DOWN THE STAIRS TO THE ATTIC AND IT HIT HER ON THE TOP OF HER HEAD. DX: INJURY OF HEAD; NECK PAIN; MINOR HEAD INJURY
37YOM WAS CLIMBING DOWN THE PULL DOWN ATTIC LADDER AND ACCIDENTLY CUT LEFT INDEX FINGER ON THE METAL SECTION OF THE LADDER DX: LACERATION TO FINGER
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Product: Louisville aluminum folding attic stairs Model AA259GS87 Incident: Folding stair support bracket on left side failed to fold on pivit joint when the stairs were closed resulting in bending the braket and tearing the aluminim stair channel where the bracket mounts to the aluminim stair channel. Subsequent use of attic stairs resulted in the braket breaking loose from the aluminum stair channel when a person was climbing the stairs. When the supporting bracket broke lose the stair sagged on the left side almost causing the person to fall from the stairs. The stair will to support a person now.
The pull down stairs is supposed to be for ceiling up to 108 my ceiling is 104. When I try to lower or put stairs up it will fall back down and hit you in head. The only way you can put stairs up or down is by using another ladder. This is a very unsafe situation. The builder and supplier agree you can not work it with out another ladder. They then say its ok because the manufacturer says its the right one for ceiling height. Ive talked to manufacture and the agree most would need to use a ladder to work the pull down stairs.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to pull-down or folding stairs on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are pull-down or folding stairs?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, pull-down or folding stairs have a danger score of 30/100 (low risk). An estimated 1,158 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from pull-down or folding stairs?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 2,020 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from pull-down or folding stairs increasing or decreasing?
Down 54% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for pull-down or folding stairs injuries?
The 35-44 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 5,146 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by pull-down or folding stairs?
Of all ER visits involving pull-down or folding stairs, approximately 7.1% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (92.9%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with pull-down or folding stairs?
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 Building Materials & Home Structures
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 35-44 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.
