Shoelace Fasteners (for Infants)
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.
Nursery & Baby Products · CPSC Code 1539
Down 100% over 5 years
The verdict
Shoelace Fasteners (for Infants) carry a danger score of 17/100 (very low risk), driven by roughly 93 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 100% over the last five years.
- 17/100
- danger score (very low risk)
- 93
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 0.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1539 - last data year 2019.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 17/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for shoelace fasteners (for infants) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume93 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)0.7%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-100%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Shoelace Fasteners (for Infants) (CPSC product code 1539, in the Nursery & Baby Products category) generate an estimated 93 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 1,112 ER-treated injuries across the 15-year span from 2005 to 2019. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 17/100 for this category (very 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 100% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2009 (295 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2014 (6 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for shoelace fasteners (for infants) is contusions, abr. to the face, accounting for approximately 150 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the eyeball (82 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 291 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 0.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how shoelace fasteners (for infants) 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 2019-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2019)
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 | 97 | 0 | |
| 5-14 | 103 | 188 | |
| 15-24 | 139 | 87 | |
| 25-34 | 72 | 88 | |
| 35-44 | 16 | 0 | |
| 45-54 | 0 | 68 | |
| 55-64 | 16 | 16 | |
| 65-74 | 0 | 71 | |
| 75+ | 72 | 79 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Finger | Fracture | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Toe | Other | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Wrist | Strain, Sprain | |
| Toe | Fracture | |
| Foot | Strain, Sprain | |
| Hand | Fracture | |
| Shoulder | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Neck | Strain, Sprain | |
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
79YOF SLIPPED AND FELL ON HER BACK THIS AM AT THE GYM. PTS SHOW LACE GOT CAUGHT ON SOMETHING CAUSING THE FALL. DX: L4 VETEBRAL FX; LOWER BACK PAIN
57YOM WAS TYING HIS SHOELACES ON SUNDAY, FELT A TWINGE IN HIS RT LOWERBACK WITH PAIN & DISCOMFORT. DX - ACUTE LUMBAR STRAIN
13 YO M TRIPPED ON SHOWLACE AND FELL TO FLOOR AT SCHOOL DX: R ELBOW PAIN
78YOF BENT OVER TO TIE SHOE LOST BALANCE FELL ON KNEE DX KNEE CONTUSION**
CONT FOREHEAD 6YOF TRIPPED ON SHOE LACE AND FELL HITTING FOREHEAD ONHARD FLOOR AT SCHOOL CAUSING CONT
9 YOM DX FX LT ARM - FELL ON LT SIDE,TRIPPED ON SHOELACE.
5YOF C/O R FOOT PAIN WHILE WEARING SHOES, PT FOOT LATER BEGAME SWOLLENAND RED, DX CELLULITIS TO ANKLE
29 Y/O W/FM FRACTURED FINGER WHEN TRIPPED ON SHOESTRING AND FELLONTO CONCRETE AT HOME.
45YOF STATES STUBBED TOE ON DAUGHTER'S SHOE CO PAIN DX FRACTURE TOE
82 YO F TRIPPED OVER SHOELACE FELL ON LEGFX FEMUR
84 YOM PT TRIPPED OVER A SHOE AND INJURED L GREAT TOE. L GREAT TOE PAIN.
3 YOM, POKED IN EYE WITH SHOE LACE, CONTUSION EYE
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to shoelace fasteners (for infants) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are shoelace fasteners (for infants)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, shoelace fasteners (for infants) have a danger score of 17/100 (very low risk). An estimated 93 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from shoelace fasteners (for infants)?
The most common injury is contusions, abr. to the face, accounting for approximately 150 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from shoelace fasteners (for infants) increasing or decreasing?
Down 100% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for shoelace fasteners (for infants) injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 291 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by shoelace fasteners (for infants)?
Of all ER visits involving shoelace fasteners (for infants), approximately 0.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (99.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with shoelace fasteners (for infants)?
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 Nursery & Baby Products
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 17/100 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 5-14 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.
