Danger score versus ER volume
Danger score versus ER volume
According to CPSC NEISS 2005-2024, Stairs Or Steps ranks #9 of 838 by danger score (51/100) at ER-volume #2 of 838 (1.2M/yr). They are not the same ranking.
- #9
- danger rank of 838
- #2
- ER-volume rank of 838
- 51/100
- danger score
- 1.2M/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 (51/100) across 838 scored CPSC product categories
51 Higher than most more dangerous than 99% 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: 68/100
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) | 10 | 76th | 35% | CPSC NEISS 20-year severity index |
| Annual ER injury volume | 1.2M | 100th | 30% | CPSC NEISS estimated annual ER-treated injuries |
| 5-year injury trend | -14% | 44th | 15% | CPSC NEISS 5-year % change in ER-treated injuries |
| Consumer incident reports | 2 | 25th | 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 23.6M estimated ER injuries land on the body
Body-part shares from the same CPSC NEISS injury_types extract for product code 1842. Segments sum to 23.6M - 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 Building Materials & Home Structures 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.
Building Materials & Home Structures danger scores
How this 51/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for stairs or steps - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume 1.2M ER visits/yr Very high volume
- Severity (hospitalization rate) 9.3% High admission rate
- Fatality rate 0.06% Above-typical fatality rate
- 5-year trend-14%
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 stairs or steps are declining by about 14% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2010 (1.3M estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (941,790 estimated visits). The single most common ER diagnosis is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 2.7M visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by internal injury to the head (2.1M cases). The 25-34 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 3.4M 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 9.3% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.06%) result in fatality.
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 stairs or steps 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 | 944,232 | 721,721 | |
| 5-14 | 760,993 | 859,926 | |
| 15-24 | 1.0M | 1.9M | |
| 25-34 | 1.2M | 2.2M | |
| 35-44 | 1.2M | 2.0M | |
| 45-54 | 1.2M | 2.0M | |
| 55-64 | 1.0M | 1.8M | |
| 65-74 | 756,636 | 1.4M | |
| 75+ | 929,831 | 1.7M |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Ankle | Strain, Sprain | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Trunk | Other | |
| Lower Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Strain, Sprain | |
| Ankle | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Strain, Sprain | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Upper Trunk | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Knee | Other | |
| Upper Trunk | Other | |
| Foot | Fracture | |
| Lower Trunk | Fracture | |
| Knee | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Foot | Strain, Sprain |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
91YOM, WALKING DOWN STAIRS LOST BALANCE & FELL FORWARD ONTO BOTH HANDS & KNEES, C/O RIGHT CHEST DISCOMFORT DX: FALL, RIGHT CHEST WALL MUSCLED STRAIN, ABRASIONS BILATERAL FINGERTIPS & KNEES
25YOM C/O LEFT ANKLE INJURY AFTER MISSING A STEP WHILE TAKING OUT THE TRASH 7 DAYS AGO. LEFT ANKLE PAIN NOTED. WAS DRINKING ALCOHOL TONIGHT AND HAVING THOUGHTS OF BEING A LOSER. VAGUE EXPRESSION OF SUICIDAL IDEATION. ETHANOL LEVEL 226. DX: ALCOHOLIC INTOXICATION WITHOUT COMPLICATION
59YOF C/O RIGHT LOWER LEG SWELLING APPROXIMATELY 10 DAYS STATUS POST A FALL. FELL DOWN A COUPLE STEPS. BRUISING ON HER RIGHT LEG. PATIENT IS ON ***. DX: CONTUSION OF RIGHT LOWER LEG
92YOF SAYS SHE TRIPPED & FELL ON A STEP ON THE PORCH OF HOME 4 DAYS AGO, PT SAYS PAIN HAS WORSENED & CAME TO ER FOR EVAL, NO THINNER USE DX FALL, CONTUSION ON RIGHT SIDE RIB
76YOF WITH FALL ON STEPS DX: ELBOW CONTUSION
28YOM WITH FALL DOWN STAIRS DX; FRACTURED RIB AND LOWER LEG
61YOF TWISTED LEFT KNEE GOING UP A FLIGHT OF STAIRS DX STRAINED KNEE
26YOF, FELL DESCENDING THE BASEMENT STAIRS LANDING INTO TWISTED FOOT POSITIVE FOOT BRUISING, NOT ABLE TO BEAR WEIGHT, DX: RIGHT FOOT PAIN
64YOF, ALCOHOLIC INTOXICATED, BAC 247, TRIPPED AND FELL DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS STRIKING HEAD UNTO FIRE EXTINGUISHER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STAIRS, UNKNOWN IF LOST CONSCIOUS, NOT ON BLOOD THINNER, DX: CLOSE FRACTURE OF CERVICAL VERTEBRA
18YOM, ADMITS TO DRINKING ALCOHOL, BAL NOT DONE, ALSO INGESTED SEVERAL EDIBLE MARIJUANA GUMMIES THEN FELL DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS, UNKNOWN IF LOST CONSCIOUS, HAS BLOOD AROUND MOUTH, STATES THAT HE FEELS LIKE BEING DISCONNECTED FROM REALITY , DX: SUBSTANCE INTOXICATION
35YOF, SLIPPED ON THE STAIRS AND FELL STRIKING HAND ON THE RAILING, DX: CLOSES FRACTURE OF LEFT HAND; HAND STRAIN; CONTUSION OF LEFT INDEX FINGER
62YOM, TRIPPED AND FELL DOWN A FLIGHT OF 10 CARPETED STEPS ON FRIDAY WHILE ALCOHOLIC INTOXICATED, BAL NOT DONE, WIFE WAS MAD AT HIM AND JUST PUT HIM TO BED, TODAY NOT EVEN ABLE TO GET UP FROM THE COUCH, DX: CLOSED FRACTURE OF MULTIPLE RIBS OF RIGHT SIDE; HEMOTHORAX ON RIGHT; ADRENAL HEMORRHAGE
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
I bought stair nosings from Menards that were manufactured wrong. There is supposed to be a taper on the top of the nosing to provide a smooth transition from the stair to the nosing. The product was made wrong and the taper is on the bottom which causes a tripping hazard. Since this product is meant to be used at the top of a change in elevation, or on stairs, this creates a dangerous situation for the end user. I contacted Menards and the amnufacturer and neither are willing to make it right.
Fall downstairs due to poor design of stair tread. Tread has a molded ridge,above grade,which my father tripped on. Fall resulted in severe head injury and hospital stay. The ridge or "lip" is placed at the edge of the tread, in an extremely dangerous location. Stair tread is manufactured by "Multy Home" a division of Natco Home Fashions of Concord Ontario, Canada, and can be purchased at Home Depot.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to stairs or steps on the CPSC website.
Compare beyond Building Materials & Home Structures
Nationwide peers by danger score, ER volume & hospitalization
Three PlainSafety-derived comparison paths for Stairs Or Steps: cross-group products nearest on danger score (51/100), estimated annual ER visits (1.2M/yr), and hospitalization share (9.3%). 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.
- Beds Or Bedframes, Other Or Not Specified Floors, Walls & Ceilings 697,169/yr
- Bicycles And Accessories, (excl.mountain Or All-terrain) Swimming, Water & Beach Equipment 466,870/yr
- Basketball, Activity And Related Equipment Sports & Recreation Equipment 450,967/yr
- Football (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) Sports & Recreation Equipment 369,776/yr
Similar hospitalization rate
Nearest cross-group products by % of NEISS ER visits resulting in hospital admission.
- Radiators (excluding Vehicle Radiators) Kitchen Small Appliances & Housewares 9.3%admitted
- Power Pruning Or Trimming Equipment, Not Specified Lawn & Garden Equipment 9.3%admitted
- Paints, Varnishes Or Shellacs Home Workshop Tools & Equipment 9.4%admitted
- Automatic Doors Or Door Openers Laundry & Household Appliances 9.2%admitted
Related Products in Building Materials & Home Structures
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, Stairs Or Steps ranks #9 of 838 scored CPSC product categories by PlainSafety danger score and #2 of 838 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does stairs or steps rank on danger score versus ER volume?
Among 838 scored CPSC product categories, stairs or steps ranks #9 by PlainSafety danger score (51/100) and #2 by 20-year estimated ER injury volume (1.2M/yr). The two rankings come from the same NEISS extract and are not the same order.
What are the most common injuries from stairs or steps?
The most common injury is strain, sprain to the ankle, accounting for approximately 2.7M injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from stairs or steps increasing or decreasing?
Down 14% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for stairs or steps injuries?
The 25-34 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 3.4M cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by stairs or steps?
Of all ER visits involving stairs or steps, 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 stairs or steps?
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.