Danger score versus ER volume
Danger score versus ER volume
According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Refrigerators ranks #84 of 838 by danger score (43/100) at ER-volume #64 of 838 (40,695/yr). They are not the same ranking.
- #84
- danger rank of 838
- #64
- ER-volume rank of 838
- 43/100
- danger score
- 40,695/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 (43/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories
43 Higher than most more dangerous than 88% 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: 81/100
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) | 9 | 70th | 35% | CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index |
| Annual ER injury volume | 40,695 | 93rd | 30% | CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries |
| 5-year injury trend | -3% | 61st | 15% | CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries |
| Consumer incident reports | 3,417 | 100th | 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 813,935 estimated ER injuries land on the body
Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 276. Segments sum to 813,935 - 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 Kitchen Cooking Appliances 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.
Kitchen Cooking Appliances danger scores
How this 43/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for refrigerators - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume 40,695 ER visits/yr Very high volume
- Severity (hospitalization rate) 8.5% Above median admission rate
- Fatality rate 0.02% Low fatality rate
- 5-year trend-3%
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 refrigerators are roughly flat over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (46,869 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2006 (31,878 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 81,454 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by strain, sprain to the lower trunk (58,777 cases). The 75+ age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 131,344 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 8.5% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.02%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 3,417 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how refrigerators 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 | 25,657 | 18,881 | |
| 5-14 | 25,601 | 21,286 | |
| 15-24 | 69,417 | 36,512 | |
| 25-34 | 77,520 | 46,290 | |
| 35-44 | 70,521 | 41,878 | |
| 45-54 | 59,649 | 43,745 | |
| 55-64 | 38,842 | 36,950 | |
| 65-74 | 24,492 | 45,178 | |
| 75+ | 36,831 | 94,513 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Hand | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Hand | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Concussion | |
| Hand | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
13 YOF FELL HIT HEAD ON REFRIGERATOR DX: HEAD INJURY
44 YOM INJURED UPPER ARM MOVING A REFRIGERATOR DX: STRAIN
76YOM WAS LIFTING A CASE OF BEER INTO HIS REFRIGERATOR WHEN HE HAD A SYNCOPAL EVENT AND FELL STRIKING HIS HEAD DX:CLOSED HEAD INJURY, ADMITTTED FOR SYNCOPY
61YOM FROM HOME HAD A TRIP AND FALL STRIKING CHEST ON A MINI REFRIGERATOR DX: CONTUSION TO RIBS
21YOF SLIPPED ON PUDDLE OF WATER ON THE KITCHEN FLOOR LEAKED OUT FROM UNDER REFRIGERATOR AND STUBBED LEFT THIRD TOE ON REFRIGERATOR DX:FRACTURED TOE
33YOF SUDDEN ONSET RIGHT LOW BACK PAIN AFTER LEANING FORWARD TO OPEN THE FREEZER ON HER REFRIGERATOR DX: BACK SPASM, LUMBOSACRAL STRAIN
48YOF,FOOT ACCIDENTALLY HIT BOTTOM OF REFRIGERATOR AN TOE BENT SIDEWAY,DX:TOE FX
71YOM SAYS HE SUSTAINED FALL AT HOME GETTING POP OUT OF FRIDGE & HE FELL BACKWARDS & HIT LOW BACK , PT WENT TO UC YESTERDAY FOR XRAY OF BACK & THEY SAID NO FRACTURES THEN DOCTOR CALLED HIM TODAY & SAID HE SHOULD GO TO ER , THAT HE HAS FRACTURE TO LUMBAR BACK DX FALL, CLOSED COMPRESSION FRACTURE L5 VERTABRA
76YOF PT REACHING INTO FRIDGE & TWISTED TO THE LEFT, DEVELOPED SEVERE LOW BACK PAIN DX: LOW BACK PAIN
78YOF HAD GROUND LEVEL FALL AT HOME IN KITCHEN, PT TRIPPED & HIT HEAD & NECK ON REFRIGERATOR , PTS DAUGHTER HEARD FALL & CAME TO PTS AID, PT RETURNED TO BASLINE W/ IN 60 SECONDS DX FALL
56YOM, HAS RESIDUAL ARM PAIN FROM RECENT MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT WHICH WAS IMPROVING UNTIL YESTERDAY WHEN HE LIFTED UP A REFRIGERATOR AND FELT SUDDEN ONSET OF PAIN IN THE LEFT FOREARM, DX: MUSCLE STRAIN OF LEFT UPPER ARM; FOREARM TENDONITIS; SPONTANEOUS HEMATOMA FOREARM
35YOF, ACCIDENTALLY STUBBED TOE AGAINST THE FREEZER NOW THE NAIL IS LIFTED OFF IT'S BAD, DX: INJURY OF GREAT TOE NAIL
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
LG Refrigerator ice maker line freezes and causes leak. Damage to floor and leaks are as lip hazard and leaks to lower floor near electrical boxescan cause electrical damage. It has been repaired, but continues to happen due to no permanent fix from LG
My Samsung refrigerator has never worked properly and it has worked even less after a Samsung technician came and replaced the ice maker and twin cooling system. The refrigerator will not stay cold. Then, we started finding plastic pieces in our ice. These are pieces that have broken off inside the ice maker and are making it into our drinks. Thankfully the biggest piece was found in my drink and not one of my toddlers.
Within the first month of owning the refrigerator, it stopped maintaining the appropriate temperature. This has caused food to spoil on numerous occasions over the past few months, because the problem is repetitive. 9/7/2021: The consumer called the manufacturer and reported the matter to a rep. (name unavailable). That person told him that she would escalate this matter to a higher authority and placed him on hold. The consumer stayed on hold for 60 minutes, before hanging up. No one ever came back to the phone to speak with him. The refrigerator has 4 settings, but does not have a thermostat. The consumer said that the first 2 settings are useless. The 3rd setting is recommended by the manufacturer, in the owners manual. However, the 4th setting causes everything in the refrigerator to freeze. He believes that this presents the potential for salmonella. He paid [$1012.00] for the refrigerator
We purchased a Samsung Refrigerator a few years ago. This appliance has a manufacturers defect with the inside temperature along with a faulty icemaker that causes bad leaking. The outside computer screen tells us one temperature, but the actual temperature on the inside is much higher. Due to this defect, we have been consuming food that has spoiled, which has been causing us to get food poisoning. We have children in our household and this issue is very unsafe and cumbersome. With sickness and many dollars lost in groceries, I contacted Samsung and they said that the best thing that they can do is offer a free repair of our icemaker, which honestly is very disappointing and not as important as making sure our family is not consuming spoiled food!!! They claim that our refrigerator is out of warranty, but once again this is a known issue/nationwide recall with this manufacturers defect, and we should be fully refunded at this point.
We bought a Samsung refrigerator in 2015 that consistently builds up ice in the back panel until the fan can no longer move. At that point, the fridge temperatures rise to over 50 degrees, spoiling our food. Weve had to replace ice maker parts and the defrost temp sensor at hundreds of dollars of expense because the warranty is only good for one year. We also had to run the manual defrost on a weekly or even daily basis. Samsung has said they cannot help because it it is out of warranty, but they have thousands of customers reporting similar issues.
Our refrigerator was leaking. It does not maintain correct temperatures at all. It's only 3 years old, and if we leave it plugged in it works for several hours and then stops working. And then it gets scary...the door starts getting really hot, and we are afraid of an electrical fire. We are using it 'til the new fridge arrives by shutting it off at night & when we leave the house, and letting it rest periodically during the day. Samsung gave us terrible runaround and was of no help at all.
Samsung refrigerator has been constantly hovering around 46-50 degrees. The freezer section has also thawed all my food twice since July. One time was just after a major meat purchase
Bought a new Samsung refrigerator 2010 , since then I have had 2 service calls, and have had to defrost my fridge every month to keep the back panel from freezing. My refrigerator is constantly at 65 degrees. My grandchildren have gotten sick and I have lost so much money in food well over 500.00$. Under the crisper drawers always have water and leak on my floors. The system runs 24-7 which then ups my electricity bill. Im in the process of trying to find another company to come look at it, because no one wants to work on them.This is a defect in the appliance .
Showing 8 of 3,417 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to refrigerators on the CPSC website.
Compare beyond Kitchen Cooking Appliances
Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization
Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Refrigerators: cross-group products nearest on danger score (43/100), estimated annual ER visits (40,695/yr), and hospitalization share (8.5%). 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 Kitchen Cooking Appliances
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, Refrigerators ranks #84 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #64 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does refrigerators rank on danger score versus ER volume?
Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, refrigerators ranks #84 by PlainSafety danger score (43/100) and #64 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (40,695/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.
What are the most common injuries from refrigerators?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 81,454 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from refrigerators increasing or decreasing?
Stable over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for refrigerators injuries?
The 75+ age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 131,344 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by refrigerators?
Of all ER visits involving refrigerators, approximately 8.5% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (91.5%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with refrigerators?
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.