Radiators (excluding Vehicle Radiators)
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.
Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares · CPSC Code 379
Down 14% over 5 years
The verdict
Radiators (excluding Vehicle Radiators) carry a danger score of 40/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 8,981 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 14% over the last five years.
- 40/100
- danger score (moderate risk)
- 8,981
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 9.3%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 379 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 40/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for radiators (excluding vehicle radiators) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume8,981 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)9.3%
- Fatality rate0.05%
- 5-year trend-14%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Radiators (excluding Vehicle Radiators) (CPSC product code 379, in the Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares category) generate an estimated 8,981 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 179,614 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 40/100 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 14% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2012 (11,675 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2023 (6,761 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for radiators (excluding vehicle radiators) is laceration to the head, accounting for approximately 34,305 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (25,102 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 53,420 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 9.3% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.05%) 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 radiators (excluding vehicle radiators) 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 | 33,672 | 19,704 | |
| 5-14 | 21,329 | 10,744 | |
| 15-24 | 6,248 | 5,061 | |
| 25-34 | 7,212 | 6,012 | |
| 35-44 | 6,681 | 5,015 | |
| 45-54 | 6,512 | 6,619 | |
| 55-64 | 7,550 | 6,598 | |
| 65-74 | 4,169 | 5,111 | |
| 75+ | 7,029 | 14,301 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Burns, Thermal | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Lower Arm | Burns, Thermal | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Foot | Laceration | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Toe | Fracture | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Toe | Laceration | |
| Lower Arm | Burn, Scald |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
22MOM GRABBED HOT RADIATOR AT AUNTS HOUSE, DX IS DEVELOPMENTALLY DELAYED, DX BURN TO HAND
53YOM PRESENTS INTOXICATED ON ALCOHOL AFTER HAVING MULTIPLE FALLS THROUGHOUT THE PAST WEEK, HAS DRANK ROUGHLY 18 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES THROUGHOUT THE DAY TODAY; WITH ONE OF THE FALLS HE IMPACTED HIS CHEST ON A RADIATOR AT HOME CAUSING BRUISING TO HIS RIBS, BAC=397.3 DX: ALCOHOLIC INTOXICATION
58YOM WITH LEFT ELBOW PAIN AFTER FALL. PT ALSO REPORTS PRESSING HIS ELBOW INTO A RADIATOR SUFFERING A SUPERFICIAL BURN TO ELBOW. DX: LEFT ELBOW PAIN
11MOM WITH BURN TO FACE AFTER PT WAS BEING WATCHED BY GRANDMA AND AUNT AND PT ROLLED OFF THE BED ONTO RADIATOR AND SUSTAINED BURNS TO FACE AND HAND DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF FACE
59 YOM PRESENTS WITH A HAND INFECTION AND REQUEST FOR DETOX EVALUATION. HE DRINKS ALCOHOL DAILY AND USES HEROIN, LAST INTAKE YESTERDAY. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, WHILE INTOXICATED, HE FELL AND HIS HANDS LANDED ON A RADIATOR. HE HAS BEEN TREATING THE BURNS AT HOME BUT PRESENTS WITH WORSENED PAIN AND DRAINAGE. BAC < 10 UDS +FENTANYL DX HAND WOUNDS, ALCOHOL USE DISORDER, OPIATE USE DISORDER
15MOF TOUCHED A HOT RADIATOR AT HOME WITH LEFT HAND DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF HAND
85YOM PRESENTS AFTER A FALL TO THE GROUND WHILE PLACING CLOTHES ON HIS RADIATOR AND TURNING TO QUICKLY. DX: ANKLE FRACTURE
94YOM PRESENTS AFTER A TRIP AND FALL WITH HEAD STRIKE ON THE RADIATOR AT HOME. DX: FALL
50YOM PRESNETED FOR AN EVAL OF RT HAND SWELLING X2 DAYS AFTER HE BURNT HIMSELF TOUCHING A RADIATOR. DX: PARTIAL THICKNESS BURN OF RT AHND
94YOM, HISTORY OF DEMENTIA, TRIPPED OVER THE RADIATOR IN THE BATHROOM AT NURSING FACILITY AND FELL STRIKING HEAD ONTO TOILET, POSITIVE FOR SKIN TEAR TO PARIETAL AREA OF HEAD, DX: FALL, INTIAL ENCOUNTER
65YOF FELL HITTING HEAD ON RADIATOR, FOUND DOWN BY SON. PT DIED IN THE ED DX: SEPTIC SHOCK
2YOF WAS CLIMBING ON FURNITURE WHEN SHE FELL BACKWARDS STRIKING HER HEAD ON THE RADIATOR AT HOME DX: SCALP LACERATION
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Product has worked fine for 2 1/2 years. An occasional pop when first turned on but that's it. When I turned it on Saturday, after about 30 seconds, it popped loudly twice and 2 large sparks came from the bottom of the panel. I shut it off and unplugged it. I turned it back on an hour later and then there was a series of 8-10 large sparks and pops along the bottom of the panel. It didn't catch fire but looked like it was about to. No injuries, no damage.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to radiators (excluding vehicle radiators) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are radiators (excluding vehicle radiators)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, radiators (excluding vehicle radiators) have a danger score of 40/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 8,981 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from radiators (excluding vehicle radiators)?
The most common injury is laceration to the head, accounting for approximately 34,305 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from radiators (excluding vehicle radiators) increasing or decreasing?
Down 14% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for radiators (excluding vehicle radiators) injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 53,420 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by radiators (excluding vehicle radiators)?
Of all ER visits involving radiators (excluding vehicle radiators), approximately 9.3% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (90.7%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with radiators (excluding vehicle radiators)?
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 Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 40/100 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 0-4 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.
