45
CPSC NEISS Data 2005–2024

Telephones Or Telephone Accessories

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 Structures & Construction Materials · CPSC Code 550

Up 15% over 5 years

The verdict

Telephones Or Telephone Accessories carry a danger score of 45/100 (moderate risk), driven by roughly 27,813 ER-treated injuries a year that are rising by about 15% over the last five years.

45/100
danger score (moderate risk)
27,813
ER visits per year (avg)
11.3%
end in hospital admission
75+
most-injured age group

Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 550 - last data year 2024.

PlainSafety danger score

0/100100/10045/100
PlainSafety danger score

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 45/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for telephones or telephone accessories - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume27,813 ER visits/yr
  • Severity (hospitalization rate)11.3%
  • Fatality rate0.03%
  • 5-year trend+15%

See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Telephones Or Telephone Accessories (CPSC product code 550, in the Home Structures & Construction Materials category) generate an estimated 27,813 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 556,262 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 45/100 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 rising by about 15% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2024 (42,516 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2008 (15,767 estimated visits).

The single most common ER diagnosis for telephones or telephone accessories is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 50,834 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the face (31,696 cases). The 75+ age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 113,065 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 11.3% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.03%) result in fatality.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 672 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how telephones or telephone accessories 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.

27,813
Injuries / Year
11.3%
Hospitalization Rate
0.03%
Fatality Rate

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

10K20K30K40K50K 20052008201120142017202020232024 43K
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Telephones Or Telephone Accessories, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 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 14,425 11,271 25,711
5-14 20,109 23,668 43,777
15-24 46,681 57,393 104,153
25-34 34,529 38,907 73,436
35-44 23,234 32,573 55,807
45-54 18,578 29,951 48,529
55-64 15,715 29,564 45,279
65-74 13,642 32,836 46,478
75+ 25,570 87,412 113,065

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Head Internal Injury 50,834
Face Laceration 31,696
Face Contusions, Abr. 19,440
Lower Trunk Fracture 18,309
Head Laceration 14,414
Upper Trunk Other 13,150
Ankle Strain, Sprain 12,732
Lower Trunk Other 12,215
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 11,701
Neck Strain, Sprain 11,501
Finger Laceration 10,790
Upper Trunk Contusions, Abr. 10,430
Not Stated/unk Other 10,399
Lower Trunk Strain, Sprain 9,731
Head Contusions, Abr. 9,030

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 86.2% (479,757)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 10.0% (55,695)
Left Without Being Seen 1.6% (8,787)
Treated And Transferred 1.3% (6,979)
Held For Observation 0.9% (4,832)
Fatality Incl. Doa, Died In Er 0.0% (176)
Unknown, Not Stated 0.0% (61)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 37 · Male · Knee · Strain, Sprain · 2024

37 YOM WAS BENDING OVER TODAY PICKING UP A CELL PHONE FROM THE GROUND WHEN HER HEARD A POP IN RT KNEE WITH PERSISTENT PAIN SINCE. UNABLE TO BEAR WEIGHT ON RT LOWER EXTREMITY. DX: KNEE SPRAIN

Age 76 · Female · Head · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

76YOF FROM NURSING HOME FELL BACKWARDS THIS MORNING AND HIT HEAD C/O LOW BACK PAIN AND HEAD PAIN, STATES SHE BENT FORWARD TO PICK UP HER CELL PHONE AND LOST HER BALANCE. DX: FALL, SCALP CONTUSION

Age 32 · Male · Hand · Laceration · 2024

32 YOM CUT HAND ON CELL PHONE DX LACERATION HAND

Age 49 · Male · Lower Leg · Other · 2024

49 YOM AFTER SLIPPING ON THE ICE AND FALLING HITTING HIS LEFT BUTTOCKS AREA WITH HIS PHONE IN HIS BACK POCKET AND NOW IS HAVING PAIN OVER THE GLUTEUS MAXIMUS MUSCLE AND TIGHTNESS DOWN HIS LEG. DX PAIN LEFT LOWER EXTREMITY

Age 76 · Female · Lower Arm · Fracture · 2024

76 YOF WITH RIGHT WRIST PAIN AS WELL AS SWELLING OF THE LEFT EYE. PATIENT STATED THAT SHE WAS LOOKING DOWN AT HER PHONE AND WALKING DOWN STEPS WHEN SHE SLIPPED AND FELL DOWN THE STAIRS. PATIENT REPORTED HITTING THE LEFT EYE. DX CLOSED COLLE'S FX RIGHT RADIUS, LEFT EYELID LAC

Age 19 · Male · Head · Internal Injury · 2024

19YOM PT ON THE PHONE ARGUING WITH MOM; VISION WENT BLACK, PT PASSED OUT & HIT BACK OF HEAD ON WOODEN DOOR, WITNESSED DX: SYNCOPE, ABNORMAL EKG, HEAD INJURY

Age 19 · Female · Upper Trunk · Other · 2024

19 YOF WAS UNRESTRAINED DRIVER ACCELERATING ON TO AN OFF RAMP WHEN HER PHONE FELL TO THE FLOOR, SHE REACHED TO GRAB IT AND SHE HIT A RAISED MEDIAN CAUSING THE CAR TO SPIN CRASHING HEADFIRST INTO THE SIDE BARRIER. SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. DX: CHEST PAIN, PAIN BOTH KNEES, NECK PAIN

Age 23 · Male · Head · Internal Injury · 2024

23 YOM BIBA FOLLOWING MVC, RESTRAINED DRIVER OF VEHICLE THAT REARENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE D/T BEING DISTRACTED BY USING HIS CELLPHONE, HIT HIS HEAD, DX: CLOSED HEAD INJURY, FACIAL CONTUSION

Age 17 · Female · Face · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

17YOF WAS SWEEPING HER FLOOR WITH A BROOM WHEN HER PHONE RANG SHE PUT THE BROOM DOWN AND BENT DOWN TO GET HER PHONE AND HIT HER HEAD DX: CONTUSION TO NOSE

Age 64 · Female · Shoulder · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

64YOF WAS REACHING FOR HER PHONE AND FELL OUT OF BED. DX: LT SHOULDER CONT

Age 65 · Female · Finger · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

65YOF FELL WHEN HOLDING ONTO CELL PHONE. DX: RT THUMB CONT

Age 28 · Female · Finger · Fracture · 2024

28YOF HAD A SLIP AND FALL REACHING FOR A PHONE STRUCK RIGHT FIFTH FINGER DX: FRACTURED FINGER

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

9/9/2016 · Incident, No Injury · Apple Inc. · Wisconsin

I phone 5 was charging on coffee table for about a hour when it started producing smoke and making a fizzing sound.my daughter unplugged it and covered it room was filled with smoke.phone is melted and no longer works.

9/9/2016 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · SAMSUNG TELECOM AMERICA (STA) · Louisiana

Samsung Note 7 blistered my hands by overhearing.

9/8/2017 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · SAMSUNG TELECOM AMERICA (STA) · Oregon

I returned to my home after several hours of being away to find my kitchen filled with smoke and a terrible smell. My Samsung Galaxy Active s6 had been charging while I was away, and it had caught fire and released black smoke inside my home. The phone was no longer burning, but had melted into the container lid it was placed on to charge. Soot shot out several feet in a semi-circle from the charger port. My home now smells like toxic fumes despite several hours of airing out the kitchen with the fan on.

9/8/2015 · Incident, No Injury · Verizon · Illinois

Near light (plug in for phone) wires melted plastic coating. Phone was plugged into charger when this happened. Also wall plug in came apart when pulling from outlet.

9/8/2011 · Injury, Level of care not known · SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS AMERICA, INC. (SEA) · North Carolina

The consumer stated that his cellular phone was in his pocket when it overheated, burned his left leg and the hairs on leg. The consumer describes his burns as first degree. The phone was in a plastic protective case was in a plastic protective case at the time. The consumer has not had any prior issue with the phone except functionality issues. The phone appears to be discolored at the inner panel of the battery compartment. The consumer was not treated by a doctor for his burns. The product did not smoked or caused any damage to the consumer's home. The consumer stated that the phone was charged prior to putting it in his pocket and was down to zero battery life after he was burned. The consumer called the firm and the retailer on September 5th, both informed him they'll take his contact information and call him back. The consumer did not receive a call and decided to the retailer and the firm back September 7th. Again, the firm and retailer told him that he would receive a callback. The consumer stated that the phone has a lithium ion battery. The consumer's wife's phone did the same thing but she was not harmed as the phone was in her purse but did not harm her.

9/6/2019 · Incident, No Injury · SAMSUNG TELECOM AMERICA (STA) · Tennessee

Caller stated that while the cell phone was being charged for approximately 8 hours when his spouse was awakened to an overwhelming burning odor. She found that the cell phone area where the cord was plugged in had melted , as well as the cord. She immediately unplugged it to prevent further damages. Caller contacted the provider who advised him to return the phone to a corporate store for a replacement. Caller stated that he had noticed that the phone had been getting extremely hot for about 2-3 weeks before the incident. Caller is concerned that these phone presents a fire hazard and should be reported.

9/6/2017 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · MixBin Electronics, LLC · Texas

The iphone case cracked and leaked, causing a chemical burn the size of a quarter to the left wrist.

9/6/2014 · Incident, No Injury · SAMSUNG TELECOM AMERICA (STA) · Florida

I purchased two samsung galaxy nexus phones in a promotion. I activated only one phone and kept the other for a spare. I already have four phones activated for family. Around jun 12th my phone got really hot so much that I dropped it out of my hand. It had been getting warmer and warmer over the year. When I dropped the phone it cracked the face of the phone. I got out a laser to possibly get my phone working properly. That is ridiculous since I didn't install the system they do at the factory. I then informed them to send it back. I then contacted the [REDACTED] from Samsung with several letters and emails from customer service. He stated he would not exchanged the phone for an upgrade which I was not asking for anyway. I just wanted my phone to work and not burn my hands or face while using and temp not reach 105, 108. Recently there was a fire in a young girls bedroom and she had major damage to her room. He could have been killed. The battery and charger over heated. As does mine and research on here even has a complaint about this issue. I feel that there should be a major recall to make sure no one else gets seriously hurt. They blamed the ,girl for the fire. Then they stated she should not have had it on the bed. She should have put it on her dress or next to her. Gee....stupid it was made of wood and would have caught fire either way. They are not taking these problems seriously and someone is going to die in fire, electrocuted, or serious third degree burns. Your dept should check into this problem instead of samsung sweeping under the carpet and ignoring because it's not millions of complaints. One complaint should be taken serious.....

Showing 8 of 672 reports.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to telephones or telephone accessories on the CPSC website.

Frequently Asked Questions

How dangerous are telephones or telephone accessories?

Based on 20 years of CPSC data, telephones or telephone accessories have a danger score of 45/100 (moderate risk). An estimated 27,813 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.

What are the most common injuries from telephones or telephone accessories?

The most common injury is internal injury to the head, accounting for approximately 50,834 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from telephones or telephone accessories increasing or decreasing?

Up 15% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for telephones or telephone accessories injuries?

The 75+ age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 113,065 cases recorded over 20 years. Females are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by telephones or telephone accessories?

Of all ER visits involving telephones or telephone accessories, approximately 11.3% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (88.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with telephones or telephone accessories?

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.

Safety Guides

What this means for you

Treat the 45/100 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 75+ 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.