Rocking Chair
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.
Home Furnishings & Fixtures · CPSC Code 671
Down 16% over 5 years
The verdict
Rocking Chair carry a danger score of 38/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 7,846 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 16% over the last five years.
- 38/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 7,846
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 8.6%
- end in hospital admission
- 0-4
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 671 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 38/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for rocking chair - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume7,846 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)8.6%
- Fatality rate0.01%
- 5-year trend-16%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Rocking Chair (CPSC product code 671, in the Home Furnishings & Fixtures category) generate an estimated 7,846 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 156,915 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 38/100 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 16% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2013 (9,424 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (5,948 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for rocking chair is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 25,882 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (20,231 cases). The 0-4 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 60,382 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 8.6% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.01%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 69 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how rocking chair 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 | 34,251 | 26,131 | |
| 5-14 | 7,449 | 7,483 | |
| 15-24 | 1,133 | 3,901 | |
| 25-34 | 822 | 2,844 | |
| 35-44 | 1,621 | 3,652 | |
| 45-54 | 2,328 | 5,731 | |
| 55-64 | 3,325 | 7,133 | |
| 65-74 | 3,893 | 10,533 | |
| 75+ | 7,891 | 26,784 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Mouth | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Toe | Fracture | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
3 YOM INJURED FINGER ON A ROCKING CHAIR DX: PAIN
2 YOM WITH LACERATION ON HIS FACE TODAY 1815. PT WAS SITTING BACKWARDS ROCKING IN A CHAIR THAT FELL AND HE HIT HIS HEAD ON THE BACK OF THE CHAIR. DX LACERATION FACE
49YOF FELL AND HIT HEAD ON A ROCKING CHAIR. DX SCALP CONTUSION
69YOF PRESENTS AFTER HITTING FOOT IN WOODEN ROCKING CHAIR, C/O PAIN TO RT METATARSAL AND NUMBNESS, DX:PAIN OF JOINT OF LT ANKLE AND FOOT, CONTUSION OF LT FOOT
67YOF FELL GETTING OUT OF ROCKING CHAIR STRIKING HEAD DX:CONTUSION FOREHEAD, CLOSED HEAD INJURY
71 YOM BIBA S/P FALL BACKWARDS FROM A ROCKING CHAIR WHEN ATTEMPTING TO GET UP. DX STRAIN NECK MUSCLE
84YOF C/O FALL AND HEAD LACERATION. WAS TRYING TO CLEAN UP HER APARTMENT AND LOST BALANCE AND FELL HITTING HER HEAD ON THE ARM OF A ROCKING CHAIR. LACERATION TO SCALP. DX: ACUTE CYSTITIS WITHOUT HEMATURIA, ALTERED MENTAL STATUS, GENERALIZED WEAKENSS
89YOF PT FELL INTO A ROCKING CHAIR, THEN ONTO FLOOR - AFTER GETTING OFF BALANCE DX: FALL, ABRASION OF SCALP, CHI
63YOF WAS SITTING IN A ROCKING CHAIR AND FELL OUT STRIKING HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY LACERATION SCALP
89YOF PRESENTS WITH LACERATION TO FOREHEAD AND BACK PAIN S/P PT STATES SHE WAS SITTING IN HER GLIDING CHAIR AT HOME EARLY THIS MORNING WHEN SHE HAD A SUDDEN FEELING OF OUT OF CONTROL OF HER BODY AND FELL FORWARD PROCEEDING TO HIT HER FOREHEAD. PT IS ON PRESCRIBED ***. DX: FACIAL LACERATION AND BACK PAIN (UPPER OR LOWER NOT SPECIFIED).
47YOF WAS CLEANING HER GRANDMAS HOUSE, WAS ON HER HANDS AND KNEES CLEANING WHEN A ROCKING CHAIR FOOT REST CAME DOWN, HITTING HER IN THE HEAD DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY
58YOM COMPLAINING OF LOW BACK PAIN, THINKS HE STRAINED IT WHILE SITTING IN A BROKEN ROCKING CHAIR, DX: LUMBAR STRAIN
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
Wilson & Fisher Delray 2 pc swivel rocker set The chair's swivel gasket disintegrates and falls off, causing the chair to become wobbly. A visitor leaned back and fell off the chair onto the patio.
The consumer stated that her daughter was playing near her. The consumers daughter crawled under the glider and grabbed the paint chip that was on the floor. The consumers daughter put the paint chip in her mouth, that the consumer was able to take out. The consumer turned the glider over and noticed a piece of paint missing. The consumer stated the paint chip was about 4-5in long. The paint chip exposed the metal on the glider. The consumer contacted the manf and they informed her that sometimes more paint comes out of the painting machine which causes the paint to chip off. The consumers daughter is 7.5 months. There are no recalls on this product. The consumer believes that this is a very hazardous product for children.
Style Number: 80004MO 09/04/2015 - The consumer used the glider rocker the day after it was purchased. The consumer states that she uses the unit approximately four hours a day. The consumer is complaining the she feels itchy all over her body as well as skin irritation on her arms. The consumer saw a label on the unit with a Compliant for Phase 2 Formaldehyde. The consumer believes the formaldehyde in the unit may be the culprit. The consumer is unaware who the manufacturer is. The consumer still uses the unit. The consumer plans on returning the unit to the retailer for a refund. The consumer believes the product poses a safety hazard.
There were two incidents. First one was Sun, Sept 1, 2013. Our patio chair that is a rocker broke. My son was sitting in it and he rocked backwards and the chair went all the way backwards and hit the ground. Fortnately the only thing he hurt was his elbows. A couple of days later the second rocker broke. This was Thurs, Sept 5, 2013. My cousin was rocking my five month old baby in the rocker and then put her in the house. She came back to sit in the chair and as she went to sit down the chair fell backwards and totally snapped off the base. In both chairs the bolts that were holding the chair to the frame snapped. I called the manufacter and reported this and they claim they never had any reports of this happening. I find it hard to believe that the bolts in my chairs are the only ones in the whole country that snapped. Luckily no one was really hurt but I see this as a potential hazard due to the fact this is outside furniture on cement and you could hit your head on the cement. Thinking about my five month old granddaughter, someone holding her could have possible dropped her when the chair fell backwards.
The base of our Hampton Bay Calabria Sling Swivel Rocker broke unexpectedly under normal use. No serious injury, but that was probably just lucky. The chair is rated for 300 pounds and the occupant was certainly less than that weight. The problem is probably similar to the recent Hampton Bay recall for the Hampton Bay Fall River Swivel Rocker Chairs. Two photos are attached to this email, one showing the crooked base, the other photo showing how two of the three supports failed.
In April of 2013, my husband I purchased the Fall River 7PC dining set. We were enjoying it one day on the patio and he leaned back in his rocker and it fell off its base. He was startled and hit his head and arm on the patio. We did not seek medical attention, but he was quite shaken up and bruised. I immediately contact Hampton Bay for a replacement. I even sent pictures of the chair and its broken base to the initial contact. After several months passed and many, many phone calls we finally received a replacement. I thought it was weird that they didn't want the broken chair back...I thought they would want to see if it was faulty. I was told to simply dispose of it. We still have our 7PC set on the patio.
Dana Point swivel rocker became wobbly over about a month time and finally failed.
(8/02/2015) The consumer stated that he was sitting in the chair. After about three minutes, the fiber springs tore away from the bottom of the chair. The consumer fell backward on the wood leaf springs patio deck. The consumer sustained minor laceration to the backs of both hands, his left ear and the back of his head. No medical attention was required.
Showing 8 of 69 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to rocking chair on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are rocking chair?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, rocking chair have a danger score of 38/100 (low risk). An estimated 7,846 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from rocking chair?
The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 25,882 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from rocking chair increasing or decreasing?
Down 16% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for rocking chair injuries?
The 0-4 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 60,382 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by rocking chair?
Of all ER visits involving rocking chair, approximately 8.6% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (91.4%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with rocking chair?
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 Home Furnishings & Fixtures
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 38/100 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.